As a child, I was both fascinated and appalled by Hans Christian Andersen’s saintly little mermaid, with her masochistic sacrifice of voice and indigenous home for the chance of a husband and immortal soul. Her creator, like many chauvinists who dream of teaching girls how to behave, craved power and approval. When I learned that he’d driven Dickens nuts by overstaying his welcome, I celebrated by writing this poem of long postponed vengeance.

Elizabeth Loudon is a novelist and poet based in Gloucestershire UK. Her debut novel A Stranger In Baghdad was published in 2023 by Hoopoe Press (AUC). Her poetry and fiction have appeared in numerous journals, including recently Whale Road Review, Pigeon Pages, Saranac Review, Hooghly Review, Southword, and Amsterdam Review.

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