Poetry Friday--Imaginary Places and Beings

I accepted Tabatha Yeatts' NPM call for poems about imaginary places and put the following illustrated poem together, which she posted last Friday:

Click on the image to enlarge for easier reading.
I knew I had another poem about imaginary place and creatures, so I looked through my files to find this next poem, written in May 2009 as part of Laura Salas' 15 Words weekly challenge. I added part of an illustrated map to enhance it. The map is known as the "Carta Marina," and can be viewed in its unaltered state, here.

The following, from December 2009, was created in response to A Miss Rumphius Effect Monday Poetry Stretch, the topic being "poetic beastiary."

"The echeneis is a small fish that is often found on rocks. It has the ability to slow the passage of ships by clinging to their hulls." Pliny the Elder, Natural History

Echeneis

The rocks are barely
visible beneath the waves,
yet, I know they are there.
I half hope the echeneis will

rise up, make contact, cling
to me, restrain me, stop
me from touching the
edge of the world. Fish,

or no fish, I know what
awaits at the end. Sail
on, sail on. It's too late
now, to turn back.

I used "Sail on, sail on" in both this and the first poem above--you know you're growing stale when you steal from yourself! However, I didn't even remember writing "Echeneis" until browsing my files, which was weeks after I had written "Máel Dúin."

Before going off to hide some eggs, hop on over to Robyn Hood Black's Life on the Deckle Edge for this week's Round-Up.

Poems © Diane Mayr, all rights reserved.