The Mermaid

Poem.

Photo credit: Richard Dorrell. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Image has been cropped.

The Mermaid

I saw a mermaid by the sea
And she was very fair —
But when she tried to speak to me
Her words were lost in air.

She beckoned me to come with her
Beneath the shining waves
To spend a little time with her
In underwater caves —

To swim with her in coral groves
Where coloured fishes play,
And see where whales and krakens rove
Beyond the light of day.

I shook my head. She seemed to pout
And failed to grasp my sense —
Or else, perhaps, she had a doubt
That this was some pretence.

I took exaggerated breaths
Exhaling loud and fast,
And she recalled the sailors’ deaths
She’d witnessed in the past.

She looked at me with pity then
As if I had been lame —
But when she tried to speak again
It seemed that no words came.

Then like a seal which in the sun
Has had enough of sleep
She slipped back in, and soon was gone,
Returning to the deep.

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Poem © Metrical Poet, 2026.