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This pair of poems by Lord Alfred Tennyson sound like they are echoing through the underwater chambers of the ocean.
We have already quoted The Mermaid in our story Bertie and the Mermaid and we thought it was so nice, it would be a shame not to hear the rest of it.
The Merman.
1
Who would be
A merman bold,
Sitting alone,
Singing alone
Under the sea,
With a crown of gold,
On a throne?
2
I would be a merman bold;
I would sit and sing the whole of the day;
I would fill the sea-halls with a voice of power;
But at night I would roam abroad and play
With the mermaids in and out of the rocks,
Dressing their hair with the white sea-flower;
And holding them back by their flowing locks
I would kiss them often under the sea,
And kiss them again till they kiss’d me
Laughingly, laughingly;
And then we would wander away, away
To the pale-green sea-groves straight and high,
Chasing each other merrily.
Oh! what a happy life were mine
Under the hollow-hung ocean green!
Soft are the moss-beds under the sea;
We would live merrily, merrily.
THE MERMAID
1
Who would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
On a throne?
2
I would be a mermaid fair;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb’d I would sing and say,
“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall,
Low adown, low adown,
From under my starry sea-bud crown
Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold
Springing alone
With a shrill inner sound,
Over the throne
In the midst of the hall;
Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps
Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate
With his large calm eyes for the love of me.
And all the mermen under the sea
Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.
3
But at night I would wander away, away,
I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,
And lightly vault from the throne and play
With the mermen in and out of the rocks;
We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,
On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,
Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.
But if any came near I would call, and shriek,
And adown the steep like a wave I would leap
From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;
For I would not be kiss’d by all who would list,
Of the bold merry mermen under the sea;
They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,
In the purple twilights under the sea;
But the king of them all would carry me,
Woo me, and win me, and marry me,
In the branching jaspers under the sea;
Then all the dry pied things that be
In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud, from aloft
All things that are forked, and horned, and soft
Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,
All looking down for the love of me.
28 Comments
NICE poem! I love poems, so far,this is the best! PLEASE reply!
this is a great story my fav.
part is was when he said”who would be a Merman bold sitting alone, singing alone under yhe sea with a crown of gold on a throne. that was so inspirering
and it was so asome.
IT IS A REALLY GOOD STORY.
cool
good poem
( the 2nd one )
good
It was good
This book is vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvery aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawsome I Like Mermaids alot I love it
Oh man it is cool it is nice asome
LLLLLLLLloooooooooooovvvvvveeeeeeeeeeee
I love poems that are perfect this is perfect
strange that it sais it ecos but actually it didn’t
its not the best i have bin reading:(
a romantik story
my sister likes them
Very well read. I wish you had animation to go with your stories and poems.
Thanks Shanta! We would really like to have more animation
but we also like to keep it simple with just the voice and this is also better for the imagination!
good story
how I could be a
merman
Der Brandon. Before you can become a Merman you first have to learn how to swim very well.
brandan,
you need fins and gills to be a merman and I dont think u will get them anytime soon.
sOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ROMANTIC
WHY ISIT ONLY A POEM?
Why does it mean:
On the throne?
Natasha, your voice is great, it always puts me in a great mood. I sometimes even fall asleep!
Hi Samantha, A throne is a king or queen’s chair. Sometimes to be “on the throne” can mean to be ruling, so if Queen Victoria was “on the throne” it’s like saying “In the time of Queen Victoria”.
GR+8 story! Fascinating voice!
You made a mistake! It’s kissed not kiss’d! Fix it!
Ahsley, Sometimes spelling mistakes are our fault, but in this case “kiss’d” is the poetic English of Tennyson and he’s indicating the rhythm – But thanks for pointing it out.
What’s Tennyson?
Ashley, Tennyson is or was, a poet, who lived in the 1900s.
that story was amazing!