Meara and the Mermaid

Once upon a day,
Of bluest sky and sea,
A girl from that said kingdom
Was lost in reverie;
But this girl was no peasant,
She was the princess fair;
The lucid sky was in her eyes
And sunbeams in her hair.

Princess Meara was her name,
A child at thirteen;
The king, her father, loved her so
And called her "Little Queen";
For his own wife had long since passed
And left him quite alone;
So Meara was his foremost thought;
He scarce heeded the throne.

She looked down on the water
Tossing in the light,
And wished that she could watch the mermaids
Dancing in the night.
But when the creatures rose to play,
She had gone to bed;
The kingdom thought these beings strange,
Regarding them with dread.

For oceans were an unknown thought,
Their depths a mystery;
The people called the mermaids fierce,
Though lovely as could be;
And just at sunset, every day
The kingdom went to sleep;
They didn't want to see the mermaids
Rising from the deep.

Yet how the princess longed to stay        
And look upon their race;
To sit atop the cliff and watch
Their dance of eerie grace;
To stop and hear the mermaid's song -
A mesmerizing tune;
The stars would play on midnight waves
And flicker at the moon.

As Meara sat there wishing,
Something caught her eye.
Why, what a chance - a mermaid there!
Yet Meara was so high!
The creature shifted on the sand -
Had it been there before?
The princess leapt and hurried down
The steep path to the shore.

Her father always cautioned her
Not to take that way,
But she was sure he'd not object
On this special day.
A mermaid in the sunlight?
How curious it seemed!
She flew so quickly down the path,
Her hair behind her streamed.

She stopped short on the seastrand…
There the mermaid lay.
So still she stayed, was she alive?
Meara could not say.
Oh, but there; she breathed so soft,
She must be very weak.
Her eyes were shut, but Meara saw
A tear upon her cheek.

Her hair was long as she was,
Though she was quite petite.
It rippled down in violet-black
To where she had no feet.
Her fins were painted deepest jade
And iridescent blue;
Her body clothed in seaweed dark
With seashells woven through.

Her skin was white as moonlight
And almost seemed to shine.
Her lovely brow was whiter still;
Her features rare and fine.
Jewels adorned her fingers small,
In the sunlight gleaming;
And on her face as Meara found,
Her silver tears were streaming.

“I’m all alone!” a voice said
So light and yet so deep,
“How foolish I have been tonight!”
Then she began to weep.
Her kindred had abandoned her?
She did not understand.
Meara backed away a space
And sat down on the sand.

The princess stayed there quietly,
Not wanting to intrude.
To startle her with questions
Would be nothing short of rude.
The ocean kept its distance too,
By drawing back its tide.
But suddenly, the mermaid hushed,
Her watery eyes were wide.

Not watery in only tears,
But watery in hues -
The deepest, richest underseas
Shone out in vibrant blues.
So stunning was her fixed gaze,
Unblinking as the sun.
Though almost frightened by her stare,
The princess would not run.

"Hello…” she said at length,
To this wondrous form.
Her heart was quickly beating.
Her cheeks were growing warm.
The deep eyes never faltered.
The mermaid made no sound.
The princess shuffled foot to foot
And looked down at the ground.

Slowly and unsurely,
Forward Meara stepped
To the hollow in the sand
Where this being wept.
"Hello." returned the mermaid,
At last giving reply.
They both remained in wonder;
The sea had met the sky.

“I’m sorry to have bothered…”
Meara quickly said.
“It’s just…I've never seen your kind.
I'm always sent to bed.”
“Neither have I seen your kind,”
The mermaid softly sighed.
Abashed, she lifted her long hair
And with it, her tears dried.

“Oh, I'm in a dreadful state.”
She choked back one more tear.
Meara gazed consolingly,
And gingerly moved near.
“What is wrong?” she ventured forth,
Her heart still beating fast.
The mermaid took a shaky breath,
To begin her tale at last:

“Last night was my first time,”
She started to explain.
“I’d never seen the stars or moon
Full, nor waxed, nor waned.
I was too afraid to come,
It seemed so far to me.
Yet from the tales that others told,
There was so much to see!”

“The moon suspended in the sky,
And if the night was clear,
Diamond stars a thousand-fold!
I overcame my fear.
We upwards through the water passed,
And all along our way,
My friends told me the sights we’d see,
And all the games we’d play.”

“Then, at last before my face,
There broke a blast of air!
So cold and free and startling,
And oh! the moon was fair;
Pouring milky beams of white
All along the sea.
The countless lights above were fair,
But none so fair as she.”

“I looked around in awe,
Breathing in the night.
My gaze fell on a palace
On the clifftop shining bright.
...Could it be that you live there?”
A light dawned in her eyes.
Could it be this lovely human
Lived so near the skies?

"Oh actually I do.”
Said Meara with a start.
“But I’m sure it’s not so lovely
As the depths of the sea’s heart.
Do tell me what it's like down there...
Is it always dark below?”
She got quite near this creature now.
Her eyes implored to know.

“Well, every single night,
In our trips to the air,
We carry precious stones and gems
Braided in our hair.
And as we play our games
Upon the ceiling of the sea,
The jewels drink the moonlight in
And grow bright as can be.”

“And so my home is never dark,
It's never even dim,
For every reef and rock is lit
With a glowing gem.
In colors like you’ll never see
And I’ve not yet begun!
But surely all would foolish sound
Compared to your great sun.”

With this final speech,
She lifted her dark eyes
To the orb of pulsing gold
Hanging in the skies.
“I could look at him for years…”
Mused she, in far off tones.
She propped herself up on her arms
Then gave a little moan.

“Are you all right?”
The princess asked,
And nearly rushed to aid.
“I am little battered still,”
Replied the ocean-maid.
“The reason I was kept here
- I’m not ashamed to say -
I was quite reckless and enthralled
By the dawn’s display.”

“My friends begged me to come down,
I insisted we must wait
To see the night fade into dawn,
The golden light create
They urged and urged me to give way,
I wanted it still more
They sulked, appealed, became upset
And went on to the floor.”

“I would be just fine, I resolved
I knew the way back home.
Besides, I could enjoy this sight
Unhindered and alone.
When the blaze rose from the sea
What splendid glory spread!
I couldn’t even draw a breath
Such flaming, pulsing red…”

“I watched for minutes afterward -
The colors bled and morphed;
Living gold gleamed on the waves
And rubies on the wharfs;
Amethysts danced on the clouds
With such unrivaled charm...
Yet suddenly a shape approached
I dove down in alarm.”

“All at once there came a ship
With swarthy men aboard,
They threw things from the weathered hull
And at each other roared
I watched from underneath the waves
I saw no danger yet,
But all at once around me wrapped
A strong and stifling net.”

Meara gasped in shock,
“What did you do?” she cried.
“It was so tight, I struggled but
Rose steadily up the side.
Harshly I was lowered down
Onto a dirty floor.
Around me flapped a hundred fish
And nets were cast for more.”

"All at once a voice called out:
'We're cursed! We'll surely be!'
They scrambled, shouting frightful things
And backed away from me.
I begged for them to listen:
'I cannot do you harm!'
'Don't heed her witching speech!' they cried,
'Don't fall under her charm!'"

"The captain gave a frightened shout,
And in reply his men
Gathered 'round my bandages,
Cursing once again.
They swiftly hurled me in the air
And straight over the rail
Net and fish all flew with me
The fishermen set sail."

"I landed in the water;
Aching head to fin.
And still there was that ghastly net
That I was tangled in.
It took me hours to break free;
It was no easy chore.
And after that, I washed up here
To rest upon the shore."

At last she closed her weary eyes.
A sorrowed silence reigned.
Meara searched for what to say;
The mermaid looked so pained.
"I don't think you are a curse,"
She brokenly began,
"I wish I could tell everyone,
But I don't think I can."

"There she is!" a voice broke o'er
The drumming of the sea,
A group of guards stood high above - 
"Oh...they've come for me."
The mermaid only nodded slow,
Then shyness overcame;
She reached and touched on Meara's hand -
"Morgana is my name."

The touch was cold and oddly rough,
But in affection done.
This curious human must return
To her home by the sun.
Morgana smiled upon the maid,
"Remember what you've seen,
Someday the humans will not fear -
Perhaps when I am queen."

Then, like the flashing of a wave,
The mermaid shot away;
Her fin a streak of sapphire 
Along the sandy bay.
She dove into the pounding surf
As Meara breathless stared. 
The Princess of the Sea had gone
...and friendship they had dared.

"She will be a queen someday..."
The girl repeated low.
She looked up at the frantic guards,
If only they could know!
The soldiers found the cliffside path
And down the trail raced.
They cast dark glances at the sea;
"I'm fine!" she said in haste.

As she climbed the tiny road,
Escorted on each side, 
Her gaze fell back across the shore
Along the rising tide...
A snow-white hand extended 
Like a seagull swift in flight,
Meara stopped, undignified
And waved with all her might.

Perhaps just then her childish mind,
Could picture future days.
Perhaps a kingdom of two kinds 
Was many years away.
And yet...perhaps she didn't need
To dream and think and plan,
Her jaw was set, her eyes grew bright
She was princess of her land.