They rose from the waves to welcome her
home.
not expecting to see their sister jump,
stay aloft on the air for a moment,
and then vanish into the foam
formed when her body hit the sea.
The sea princesses came home
wailing for their lost sister,
wailing for their lost sister,
with their grandmother joining them in
grief.
Together their cries rose up out of the sea
bubbling up as a moan,
reverberating to the human
lands.
The unease it inspired would have
pleased the merfolk,
for as much as the kingdom loved its
lost little pearl
they now despised fickle humankind,
who did not notice bloody feet,
or the wincing covered by smiles.
Hurt is a hardening agent,
for resolve,
for strength,
or sometimes for minds,
and hearts.
Hurt is a hardening agent,
for resolve,
for strength,
or sometimes for minds,
and hearts.
Trips to the surface were suspect
after the princess’s sad end.
What true merperson would allow
themselves to be enthralled
by such barbaric creatures?
by such barbaric creatures?
So everyone said in the light of day.
Though in moonlight,
a mermaid would polish her collection
of hairpins and tea kettles,
of hairpins and tea kettles,
while another would sing human songs in
her room.
One merman would analyze
the knots and weaving of mysterious
human fabric,
while another would swim to a village
and to repeat his vow to his sweetheart
that the troubles below
would not stop him from seeing her.
Some succeeded in keeping their hearts
hidden.
Some did not.
Sometimes the price was a broken tea kettle.
Sometimes it was more,
all for the non-malicious vapidity of a boy,
and shortsighted folly of a girl.
Song Choice: Urami Bushi by Kaji Meiko
This poem was inspired by Magaly Guerrero's prompt given for Dark Poetry for the Cruelest Month: Beyond the Happily Ever After.
Oh my Rommy! I really had no idea how to start a piece about this story...couldn't get passed the knowledge that she had gone completely. Never thought how others of her kind had been affected XXX
ReplyDeleteWhen I re-read the original story before writing the poem, I noticed how close knit her family must be. The idea that her sisters had all sold their hair, sure she would make the choice to come back, stuck with me as well as the idea of how horrible it would be to watch her die and not know she lived on somewhere else.
DeleteThis story captured the imaginations of several of us! I like your description of the after-effects; very believable.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of interesting ideas to play with in The Little Mermaid. There were a lot of ideas floating around in my head, pun intended. :D
DeleteVery cool Rommy. I love the way you write and I like the ripple effects that affected others. Great job!
DeleteVery cool Rommy. I love the way you write and I like the ripple effects that affected others. Great job!
DeleteEngaging narrative and images so vivid! I especially love the title of your poem, reminds of my dad when I was young. He always asked after reading us bedtime stories, "and the moral of the story is?" Thank you for this winsome poem :-)
ReplyDeleteMy dad would frequently do the same thing!
DeleteI enjoy reading your poetry, and especially warmed to this one.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl, whenever I was asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I always replied "A Mermaid".
I have a lovely collection of hair-pins and kettles, but alas, no scales or tail!
I adore hair decorations of all types, especially if they are up to the challenge of holding my thick hair in place. I would like to get another kettle eventually - especially a traditional cast iron one.
DeleteAbsolutely amazing!
ReplyDeleteThanks Laura!
DeleteI agree, this is such a powerful rendition of what might have taken place afterwards. Especially in awe of "all for the non-malicious vapidity of a boy,and shortsighted folly of a girl."
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Sanaa
What I like best about those lines is it could describe pretty much any young couple anyplace in the world. Teen silliness is legendary.
DeleteI really love that the mistakes of two haven't cost the entire population their love, their dreams... I'm also enchanted by how your poem spells a new tendril into the mythology of the fairy tale. Now every time I think of merpeople and moonlight, I'll answer the why with your poem. ♥
ReplyDeleteThere is no harm in dreaming, but there needs to be some wisdom involved. Certainly the mermaid's problem was not in being willing to dream, but in not understanding all the consequences of her rash decisions.
DeleteAlso...yes. This poem drove me crazy, because I sooooooooo wanted to make this a short story. I haz ideas!
DeleteYour poem seems to pick up where mine left off. I love that you included the explorations of other merfolk, I felt like I was in the sea observing them.
ReplyDeleteI remember being slightly horror struck when I re-read the original and realized how much her family wanted her to come home.
DeleteLove the back story of how her family might have felt. And this line is fantastic:
ReplyDeleteHurt is a hardening agent,
Observation has shown me the truth of that statement.
Deletebeautiful job, heartfelt grief of her family at her departure as a young foolish mermaind
ReplyDeleteThanks, I couldn't help but explore this after re-reading the story and seeing how they did care for her, even when she was being rash.
DeleteWow! One rarely gets to hear about the rest of the family in a tale, unless they are horrid. The reality of what losing a sibling or family member to a strange fate is never thought about, even with the ending is mostly happily ever after. Great!
ReplyDeleteTrue. And the bits you see of her family indicated to me how much they cared.
Delete