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;

10 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,

15 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,

20 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.

25 We would call aloud in the dreamy

30

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

40

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.

I would be a mermaid fair,

10 I would sing to myself the whole of the

day;