Cloudthings

Feb 11, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Mermaids I have known

In the evenings you find her - By the lake near the water

She’ll be shedding the colours she chose for the day

She may walk in the moonlight - and the shadows may court her

When the sweetness of summer leaves nothing to say

Did I see the flash of a fin in the water?

As she darts to the shadows – the same ones that court her

We think we know her - and some of us guess

We might know a mermaid – but she’d never confess

I knew her sisters – I watched as their kids grew

And I welcomed her voice when she came to our town

But I sensed the sadness that dwelled in her heart too

She tried hard to hide it, though it would not stay down

She once had a love she believed would be true to her

She never expected what that loss would do to her

If she came to us broken – Ohh now she can sing

She never expected again to have wings

Now I see the flash of a fin in the water

As she darts to the shadows – the sweet ones that court her

We might think we know her – well, some of us guess

Is our dear one a mermaid? – hmm she’d never confess

She’s a pleasure to welcome, when she slips in amongst us all

Where we sing for the mornings, the water, the wings

But down at the lake, she’ll be poised as darkness falls

She’ll succumb to the spell that immersion now brings

And I saw the flash of a fin in the water

Past the secret seduction of shadows that court her

We think we know her and some of us guess

She might sing to us softly, she feels safe here, and blessed

Is our good friend a mermaid? – I doubt she’d confess

In the evening by the water, sirens sing and mermaids preen

There my heart will always dwell, the ocean blue and gold and green

Songs that draw the heart to breaking – visions glow and bond us all

Each of us, as women, know - that siren song is a constant call

— Cloudthings, Feb 11, 2009

About This Poem

About the Author

Region, Country: Australia, regional Victoria, AUS

Favorite Poets: So many... Rumi, Spike Milligan, Keats. Many of the Neopoet clan, past & present. A myriad of song writers, Dylan, Jackson Browne, Lior, & I must add the poetic influence of painters, sculptors & creators across the world... Life really, especially the sky.

Critiques

Nordic cloud

17 years 3 months ago

Magical Sirens

Do you mean the Ohh (h) or is that just lengthening the note in the song? As you do later with the hmm. And this line seems longer in rhythm "She's a pleasure to welcome, when she slips in amongst us all" ( Oh how exciting to have a mermaid slip in amongst you! Do tell me what it is like, do you have them in Australia??? Perhaps it is like cloudthings curling about you as you float in the currents of the sea, no doubt also like the Zen idea of going with the stream rather than against it. I can imagine it and thank you for conjuring up the vision and the atmosphere fro me to indulge in.) I love the rhythm and the flashes of meaning and I wonder what sounds go with it, for you. I hear the whale's cry in the background too-that might be my drone, although on a deeper wavelength than the usual whales. Or the sound of the sea itself ever washing the shores of our continents. Whatever, it has the mysterious tantalising feeling that these 'beings' create in our minds. Very well done Anni, you are the clouds above the mermaid's meadows wandering about like early morning mists, caressing the surface of the waters. Love Ann of Norway. ( So many Ann's I put that to show which.)

Cloudthings

17 years 3 months ago

Selkie secrets

I have a wee moment dear Ann of Norway with your lovely spiral knots at the base of your locks... I love the image you have posted here it gives such character & I find a new element each time I view it. My mermaid?... You would love her as I do.. She is a member of the community women's choir I facilitate here in my little town... Her sisters lived her for years (big catholic family she has 11 or more sisters & they are all beautiful, she is edging to the 50 end of 40 now, but still beautiful). She came to the choir very delicate & self contained, I felt she was almost brittle poor thing... I managed to open her heart quite early I think, & encouraged her in a few ways she says made a massive difference, & indeed I saw her blossom significantly.. She had been happily married for 20 odd years when her husband ran off with a far younger woman (the story is in no way a new one) & the effect was quite devastating on her... She tells me I'll never know just how close she was to just "floating away", when the singing called her back... (we both love "The Lady of shallot")... She arrives (usually slips in late) every week in some exqusite plumage she has created from opshop divinity, she chooses one colour each day & always it's a pleasure to see what she will be wearing. & most evenings, as the song recounts, you can find her by the lake, if not immersed in it (we have 2 lovely lakes in our town ... & no traffic lights! It was Marg's idea to have a water theme for our next choir CD, she loves my songs especially the siren & mermaid themed ones (I have many since I feel so akin) so I thought I would write a song in her honour, she is such a water baby it just seems as it should be really... Whether she really IS a mermaid... I doubt she'd ever tell... but I suspect! I have been gathering songs of "Selkies/Silkies", Seal people, Mermaids, Sirens & water nymphs for years, so if you hear of any in your lands I would love to know of them. I bet the Fjords have many lovely tales... Must be such a lovely place to live... To be honest I have such romantic visions that it is like where I live only more extreme & beautiful. Anni I wish to walk gracefully..... so as not to spill water.

Cloudthings

17 years 3 months ago

The bits I missed xx

I just reread your note & realised I only responded to the question about the actual mermaid.. So yes, the Ohhhhh is to draw out the sound, you are right, since I hear it in song in my head, this line. It does not sit so well in poetry to do that? I guess not.. & yes, the line you mention is a little longer, & again, in poetic terms may be clumsy, but in song it's easier maybe to phrase things in a way that works with the rhythm... But I DO apreciate the feeback & will revisit this when I have a little more time. i love the things you have said here so beautifully (as I always do) so thank you... I take your comment about the whale song, & drone.. but I have taken the naughty liberty of placement in a more rural space, this mermaid is somewhat out of place in a lake, but she has made the best of it... I have other Ocean based siren songs where the whale song drone fits perfectly... As for hearing it dear Ann... when the CD is done.. up to a year I suspect, we will do this process gently, I shall send you a copy for your efforts & encouragement & hopefully for your enjoyment)... If you were here, I'd be wishing you could join us, you'd fit right in with the other gorgeous & brilliant women I am spoilt to have in my choir. I am off to do a rough recording of the parts before I teach it to the women this afternoon! Anni I wish to walk gracefully..... so as not to spill water.

Cloudthings

17 years 3 months ago

Ooh also missed!

Maybe you meant the whale drone for the last stanza which WOULD be apropriate being more about the traditional ocean oriented siren/mermaid... I was thinking this might go over the songe somewhere but maybe not.. I will think on it.. ta Anni May I wish to walk gracefully..... so as not to spill water.