Mélusine
Once I was a beginner.
I was rain, I was rush,
I was a barbed hook,
my skull a small cage
for a fluttering bat.
Now in my latter days
I'm the zoo unbound,
furred and finned,
fully winged,
Mélusine and manticore,
cockatrice,
chimera and koala,
yin yanged as an orca
and just as
slick.
~May 2013
reposted for real toads
Open Link Monday
Process notes: Mélusine "...is a figure of European legends and
folklore, a feminine spirit of fresh waters in sacred springs and
rivers. She is usually depicted as a woman who is a serpent or fish from
the waist down (much like a mermaid). She is also sometimes illustrated
with wings, two tails or both... "
Optional Historical Trivia: I was reminded of Mélusine (though she only appears briefly here) after writing Jehanne, for Fireblossom's Friday Challenge. Jeanne, the Demoiselle of Luxembourg, in whose castle of Beaurevoir Joan of Arc was first held, was one of the few powerful figures who attempted to protect her, and indeed it was not till after her death that Joan was given to the English tribunal. At various times,like other prominent families in the region, the house of Luxembourg claimed descent from Mélusine. In some sense, therefor, Mélusine is still amongst us, as the Demoiselle's great-niece, Jacquetta,"... was the maternal grandmother of Elizabeth of York, Queen and wife of Henry VII. As such, she is an ancestress of all subsequent English and British monarchs, including Elizabeth II, and seven other present-day European monarchs.."~wikipedia
Images: Top: Das Lüsterweibchen, by Albrecht Durer, 1513
Bottom:Mélusine allaitant ses fils Thierry et Raymonnet. 15th Century
Public Domain
