A Visitor From the Sea

colllage, pan pastel, acrylic

You have seen Aislinn in an earlier post.  

Today you hear her story, 

 a version from old Scottish and Irish folklore.  

A selkie (pronounced silky) is a seal who has the ability 

to shed its skin and become a human woman.  

She can live on land, even marry and bear children 

yet the sea remains in her heart always.  

Once she dons her skin again 

she can reenter the sea 

leaving her human life behind.   

Often it is not an easy choice 

after bonding with her family.  

Aislinn is one such selkie.  

Exhausted from a storm,  she was caught in a fisherman's net.

She had no energy to fight.  The gentle fisherman took her into his isolated cottage

on the northern most tip of Scotland

where few humans chose to endure the harsh winters.

There they lived as man and wife for seven years

with two young children.

He never questioned the look that came  to her 

when she thought no one saw.  Nor did he question 

the day she disappeared.

Though there were days after the disappearance that a seal appeared 

in the bay in front of the cottage

skimming the surface of the glassy sea with 

hauntingly familiar eyes following the movements of the

young children.

If you look close enough here

you can recognize her longing.
When I walk along the cliffs near my home,
I sometimes hear seals barking, 
echos of another time
and wonder of the stories they have to tell.