The Mermaid and the Dragon, by Warwick Goble
Mortal to Mermaid
Well known ’s the tale of mermaid fair
Who rose to leave the sea
For love or curious yearning
Chose life’s complexity
O Mermaid are you satisfied?
Did love endure, suffice?
Or do you lament this journey,
This tossing of the dice?
Another tale must still be told
Although it may yet fail
Of mortal woman’s wond’ring wish:
Swap feet for mermaid’s tail
O Mermaid what’s it like to swim
B’neath surface of the sea?
With dolphins for companions
Alluring, fresh, and free?
At times kind friends have mentioned
It’s better to pretend
Just try the look, just wear the tail
Your fantasies will mend
O Mermaid, here’s my quandary:
Pretend will not permit
I wasn’t born with mermaid’s grace
Such slipper doesn’t fit!
Fluidity is often lost
In mortal woman’s face
Ambition steals serenity
Life’s sorrows tax our grace
O Mermaid, would you guide me then?
Will you take the helm?
Reveal those worlds I cannot see
In your enchanted realm
I walk along the water’s edge
Not far from where they thrive
And ponder such adventure that
Might re-invent my life
O Mermaid share your wisdom now
Where lies my remedy?
The mortal’s world ‘midst trees and trials,
Or life beneath the sea?
***
Dorothea Barth©2009
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