The Little Mermaid
Stave 6
For the last time the mermaid returned to her home.
She thought her heart would break as she rose through the foam
And swam to shore.
The silver moon was high when she drank the bitter potion;
The sharpest pain passed through her and she fainted away.
When the sun had risen over the ocean
She awoke to the prince’s stare.
Her fishtail was gone and she was naked –
The mermaid covered herself with her hair.
When the prince asked for her name,
Her sad eyes were tender but no words came.
Each exquisite step felt like razor-sharp knives
But hand in hand with the prince
She drifted like sea foam.
At the castle she was clothed in silk and linen
She was the fairest of the women,
Even the slave girls who sang for the prince.
Oh how she wanted to sing!
When the slaves danced,
She raised her pale arms,
Rose up on her toes and took to the floor,
Dancing as no one had danced before
On knives.
She slept outside the prince’s door
On a cushion of velvet
Like a pet.
He took her riding in fragrant forests;
They climbed steep mountains among the clouds.
But in deepest night when everyone slept
The mermaid cooled her burning feet
In the cold sea water
Soothed by the songs
Of Neptune’s daughters.
Image found on Pinterest
writing in north norfolk 