The Tears of the Mermaid


Sweet Grandmother mine, what is that I hear?
My window lay open, and unto my ear,
Comes the crash of the waves, and the howl of the sky,
And a song how it haunts, and stops not its cry.

Tis the Mermaid you heed, she swims near to shore,
And cries for her Captain, who sees her no more,
He grew old in time, and in human years aged,
And lived on the land, for a wife he then stayed.

Where is he, my love, my captor in time,
Who has given his pledge to always be mine.
He comes to me not, his eyes I not see,
Where is my true love, has he forgotten of me?

My grandchild, my dear, close your window tonight,
It’s best not to hear, nor catch her by sight,
As a mermaid she’ll age, slower than humans in years,
And never will cease her sad, lonely tears.

By Lynn Hones