Return to Atlantis, or Villanelle for Ariel

Written By Candice Kelsey

You stuck your foot out & tripped Eric hard,

Stepping on him & pulling his famous hair.

You really caught that mediocre prince off guard.


Shoved shells down his—what’s that word?

Throat. Face in the sand he gasped for air.

You stuck your foot out & tripped Eric hard.


Just another creation of the Danish Bard, 

Ariel, Hans Christian Andersen laid you bare:

Still, you caught that fucking prince off guard.


Other mermaids give his smile high regard,

Think his old English sheepdog quite debonair.

You stuck your foot out & tripped Eric hard.


You get it. Lose the Ashman & Menken canard,

And he’s just another big-eyed nepo bairn.

You really caught that mediocre prince off guard.


You’ll ride on Flotsam & Jetsam securely barred;

Like Triton, he’ll blow his own shell in despair.

You stuck your foot out & tripped Eric hard;

Let’s catch every mediocre prince off guard.

Candice Kelsey

CANDICE KELSEY [she/her] is a poet, educator, and activist in Georgia. She serves as a creative writing mentor with PEN America's Prison Writing Program; her work appears in West Trestle, Heimat Review, Poet Lore, and Worcester Review among other journals. Recently, Candice was a finalist in Iowa Review's Poetry Contest and nominated for a Best Microfiction 2023. She is the author of Still I am Pushing (FLP '20), A Poet (ABP '22), a forthcoming full-length collection with Pine Row Press and chapbook with Drunk Monkeys' Cherry Dress. Find her @candice-kelsey-7 @candicekelsey1 and www.candicemkelseypoet.com.

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