Her Choice

I think I made the right decision.
But each word of that sentence
Is like a knife to the heart.
If the mermaid had decided to
Leave her prince to his princess
And walk the earth the rest of her days
Rather than drown her sorrows
In a foamy ocean death,
She would have learned to live
With the knives in her feet.
Learned to live with her choice.
Her choice, not his.
Her choice, not fate.
Her choice, not right.
Her choice, not wrong.

The Little Mermaid, illustration by Helen Stratton