Da Mermaid by de Sea

Imagine someone with a heavy Haitian accent reading this

Da Mermaid by de Sea

Once upon a briny deep

In shadows dark that dreams do seep

A mermaid lived with skin like snow

And ventured forth through seaweed flows

Who spent the days perched endlessly

Above a deep sapphire colored sea

And watched the tide rock to and fro

From a cliff high above, she’d go

Or lay upon the silken strand

And warm herself in the tawny sands

But anyone with eyes could see

That this Mermaid was very lonely. . . . 

And so begins our tragic tale

That will be told without fail

Of the unrequited love that be

Dhat of Da Mermaid by de Sea

Ask anyone you know

A lawyer, a doctor, or even a scarecrow

That beauty lies within the deep

A subtle art that’s hard to keep

For any fool with half a brain

Knows that true beauty is not vain

But be that as it may seem

Not a creature could redeem

The otherworldly beauty that possessed

(As the God’s on high can attest)

That no angel in heaven’s breast

Could match the beauty and the grace

Her silken hands and neck and face

Ivory pearls strung along her shoulders

As fair as any at cliffs at Dover

For fair of face and azure eyes

Deeper than any October skies

Could match the beauty and the majesty

Of our lovely Mermaid by de Sea

Here I will caution you to know

That this is a tale of unconscionable woe

All good love stories begin of course

Within the presence of remorse

That the love of a mermaid was not to be

Because of a bitter twist of irony

You see, jealousy took hold one day

On Mount Olympus, far away

And whose eyes should fall upon a maid

Taking shelter in a grotto’s shade

But the emerald green eyes of jealousy

The most fair eyes of one Aphrodite

And so filled with hate she was having spied

Such beauty her tongue was tied

For a moment---- then it passed

Then with golden wand a curse was cast

“I declare no creature will be,

In the heavens, the earth, or in the sea,

more beautiful than me!”

 

But before her wand thus drifted

The curse was once again mercifully lifted

Because something happened that was unexpected

It seems that someone wiser had protected

That was the honor and the grace

Her silken arms and neck and face

Of the otherworldly beauty that be

Dhat of Da Mermaid by de Sea

“What is this I see?” Called Zeus to Aphrodite

“You are consumed by some petty jealousy?

You call yourself the Goddess of love and light?

Take your leave, or you shall feel my might!”

And her golden wand he confiscated

And dismissed her thoroughly humiliated

For it was a little known fact you see

That Zeus held a torch for the maid by the sea 

And so Aphrodite just then retreated

But bitterly refused to be defeated

The goddess of love by Zeus was spurned

But revenge in her heart still burned

To make a mermaid suffer so

So filled with envy she would not let go

She set to work in her ivory tower

Concocting an potent elixir of some power

Until a clever spell she carefully crafted

Was then ready to be drafted

To Elysian Fields she called, you see

To bring forth her steadfast emissary

 

She slipped her golden conch shell out of her pocket

Flipping it open, she spoke into it softly, fearing gossip

“Yes, hello?  I would like to leave word for Mercury,”

Said Aphrodite, “that he is at once to report to me.”

And before she hung up there was knock at the door

And it was none other than the winged-footed God of lore

“Goddess, I’ve heard that you have a task for me,

And you are looking lovelier than ever, I can see.”

But Aphrodite, short on time, was in a bit of a hurry

She really just wanted him to make haste and scurry

So, she dispensed with the requisite pleasantries

And begged him to stop genuflecting on his knees

“Mercury, go henceforth and give this potion

To the old sea witch that lives in the ocean---

And tell her that Abigail must drink it tonight

Or, so help me Zeus, she will feel my might!”

Mercury bowed to her then and kissed her hand

That was made of the finest porcelain in all the land

“Yes, your Highness, your directives will be followed to the letter,

I would say you were up to no good, if I didn’t know you better.”

And with that, wasting no time, he turned and left

Leaving Aphrodite feeling confused and bereft

At dinner that night in the Palace she was reticent

And wise Zeus knew all too well what that usually meant

The Goddess of love and beauty was up to no good

And he reminded himself that she was largely misunderstood

 

Meanwhile, Mercury made it to Stubble Rock in record time

So quickly, in fact, he could almost stop on a dime

For Aphrodite had warned him before his departure

That before the sunset Abigail must be captured

And seduced by the old sea witch to drink the elixir

Blood, sweat and tears--- it was quite some mixture

Luckily, there were some dolphins playing on the tide

And Mercury summoned them over for a ride

“My friends, I must ask you to plunge into the deep,

And from the darkest depths of the ocean you must reap

And bring forth and summon the old sea witch for me

We haven’t much time, in an hour the sun sets on the beach.”

And the two dolphins who were there nodded at him

In agreement, realizing that this was not some whim

His posture indicated it was an emergency

And his inflection, a mission of some urgency

This understood, they flipped their tales as they should

And dove into the briny deep as fast as they could

Just a few minutes went by, maybe fifteen at the most

When through the waves Mercury could see a boat

Approaching in the distance through choppy seas

Inside the sea witch, rowing just as smoothly as you please

She called, “And who dares to interrupt my dinner hour?”

But Mercury retorted, “I have a potion here of some power.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at the beautiful bottle

“A potion, you say?  Looks more like a throttle---”

And then she laughed raucously as witches are prone to do

But Mercury insisted, “You must give this to Abigail, or you’re through.”

The sea witch simply replied, “Oh yeah?  Says who?”

Mercury continued, “Aphrodite is the one who has sent me-----

And if you don’t carry this out, she will be unrelenting.”

“Oh yeah?  What’s she gonna do?  Make me less attractive?”

Mercury laughed, “your license for magic will be retracted.”

“Very well,” replied the sea witch dolefully

“I will do as you ask,” she added woefully

“Good,” he said.  “Now tarry along.  You mustn’t be late.

She must drink this before the sun sets, make no mistake!”

And with that Mercury rose in the air as high as a church steeple

Under her breath, the sea witch muttered, “de nerve of some people.”

 

As the sunset, our beloved mermaid by de sea

Swam through the waves so happily

Until she came to an out cropping of rock

And then tied her red hair up in a top knot

As she sat on her perch watching the sunset

She suddenly realized she was filled with regret

That the other mermaids were all married off

But there she sat alone at sunset, aloft

No hands to hold, no lips to kiss

The affection of someone she did miss

She had no idea who this person was

But hoped that the angels watching above

Would in time see their way clear

And allow her to draw a lover near

She said a silent prayer then before the sun set

That her whole life not be filled with regret

That she would know the love of a lover, you see

Such was the unspoken wish of our mermaid by de sea

So lost in forlorn reverie

Was our lovely mermaid by the sea

No loving hands to tender hold

And no one with whom to grow old

Just years of swimming in the waning sun

Longing for her long-lost one

The sunset turned her hair to rust

A heart so full of longing, it almost bust

So lost in this terrible reverie----

Until came, the old witch from the sea

 

 (to be continued)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[The Twin Arenas]

It's a mermaid poem alright.

I love reading about mermaids.

It was good, but if I were you I'd take that part about the golden cellphone out of there. I was in with all these gods and goddesses and mermaids and it felt good being so far away from phones, but then one showed up. Couldn't be a conch shell or something? I don't know. Where's the rest?

[mackieboy]

that was good!
uhm,
i'd like to read the "(to be continued)" part...:)

[Rene Salinas]

Lovely this. Sirens tend to be a good representation of the femme fatale luring the sailors with their enchanting music making them shipwreck in the end yeah well, infatuation is a dangerous thing. That aside it is a story like poem with vibrant lines and a lot of fluidity. It made me want to read some more. Enchanting also the mythological characthers thrown in although it is your own use of the images. It all added up to a creative manifestation.

Thankyou