THE MERMAN.

I.

WHO would be

A merman bold,

Sitting alone,

Singing alone

Under the sea,

With a crown of gold,

On a throne?

II.

I would be a merman bold,

I would sit and sing the whole of the day;
I would fill the sea-halls with a voice of power;
But at night I would roam abroad and play
With the mermaids in and out of the rocks,
Dressing their hair with the white sea-flower;
And holding them back by their flowing locks
I would kiss them often under the sea,
And kiss them again till they kiss'd me

Laughingly, laughingly;

And then we would wander away, away

To the pale-green sea-groves straight and high,

Chasing each other merrily.

III.

There would be neither moon nor star;

But the wave would make music above us afar— Low thunder and light in the magic night—

Neither moon nor star.

We would call aloud in the dreamy dells,
Call to each other and whoop and cry

All night, merrily, merrily;

They would pelt me with starry spangles and shells, Laughing and clapping their hands between,

All night, merrily, merrily:

But I would throw to them back in mine
Turkis and agate and almondine:

Then leaping out upon them unseen
I would kiss them often under the sea,

And kiss them again till they kiss'd me
Laughingly, laughingly.

Oh! what a happy life were mine
Under the hollow-hung ocean green!
Soft are the moss-beds under the sea;
We would live merrily, merrily.

THE MERMAID.

I.

WHO would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair

Under the sea,

In a golden curl

With a comb of pearl,

On a throne?

II.

I would be a mermaid fair;

I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb'd I would sing and say,
'Who is it loves me? who loves not me?'
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall
Low adown, low adown,

From under my starry sea-bud crown

VOL. I.

Low adown and around,

G

And I should look like a fountain of gold

Springing alone

With a shrill inner sound,

Over the throne

In the midst of the hall;

Till that great sea-snake under the sea

From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps

Would slowly trail himself sevenfold

Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate

With his large calm eyes for the love of me.

And all the mermen under the sea

Would feel their immortality

Die in their hearts for the love of me.

III.

But at night I would wander away, away,

I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks, And lightly vault from the throne and play

With the mermen in and out of the rocks;
We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,
On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,
Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.

But if
any came near I would call, and shriek,
And adown the steep like a wave I would leap
From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;
For I would not be kiss'd by all who would list,

Of the bold merry mermen under the sea;

They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,
In the purple twilights under the sea;

But the king of them all would carry me,
Woo me, and win me, and marry me,

In the branching jaspers under the sea;
Then all the dry pied things that be

In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.

And if I should carol aloud, from aloft

All things that are forked, and horned, and soft Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea, All looking down for the love of me.