"What is the difference between a criminal and a villain? Which term has more cultural currency for women? I wrestled with this question during a recent viewing of The Little Mermaid with my niece. The plucky, honey-voiced Ariel is the protagonist of the story, but the swaggering sea witch Ursula—the villain—steals the show. Ursula preys on the “miserable and depressed” creatures who visit her cave cauldron, and she confesses that she has “repented,” but I wondered if her wickedness was driven by her isolation? Pain begets pain. Water seeks its own level. Or, was wickedness on its own simply delicious for Ursula? The tale’s Faustian Bargain unfolds, and the sea witch gives Ariel a potion that trades legs for a voice—body parts for talent (or self-expression). This is ironic because Ursula has both a compelling voice and powerful magic, but, somehow, that isn’t enough. Do we always want what we don’t have? My poem, divided into eight sections, representing the witch’s eight limbs, imagines the motivations, contours, and contradictions of this complex cephalopod. I infused musicality and lyricism to spin the reader and listener into whirlpools of wordplay that mimic the rhythms of the torch-song chanteuse. Thanks so much to Gerald So, pioneer of Crime Poetry, for the invitation to perform the work on his channel, The Five-Two. I love blending genre and exploring the intersection of persona poetry and criminality."