The MermaidFirst printed in 1830.1Who would beA mermaid fair,Singing alone,Combing her hairUnder the sea,In a golden curlWith a comb of pearl,On a throne?2I 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 crownLow adown and around,And I should look like a fountain of goldSpringing aloneWith a shrill inner sound,Over the throneIn the midst of the hall;Till that[1]great sea-snake under the seaFrom his coiled sleeps in the central deepsWould slowly trail himself sevenfoldRound the hall where I sate, and look in at the gateWith his large calm eyes for the love of me.And all the mermen under the seaWould feel their[2]immortalityDie in their hearts for the love of me.3But at night I would wander away, away,I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,And lightly vault from the throne and playWith 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[3]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 leapFrom the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;For I would not be kiss’d[4]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 beIn the hueless mosses under the seaWould curl round my silver feet silently,All looking up for the love of me.And if I should carol aloud, from aloftAll things that are forked, and horned, and softWould lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,All looking down for the love of me.[1]Till 1857. The.[2]Till 1857. The.[3]1830. ’I the. So till 1853.[4]1830 Kist.
First printed in 1830.
1
Who would beA mermaid fair,Singing alone,Combing her hairUnder the sea,In a golden curlWith 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 crownLow adown and around,And I should look like a fountain of goldSpringing aloneWith a shrill inner sound,Over the throneIn the midst of the hall;Till that[1]great sea-snake under the seaFrom his coiled sleeps in the central deepsWould slowly trail himself sevenfoldRound the hall where I sate, and look in at the gateWith his large calm eyes for the love of me.And all the mermen under the seaWould feel their[2]immortalityDie 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 playWith 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[3]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 leapFrom the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;For I would not be kiss’d[4]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 beIn the hueless mosses under the seaWould curl round my silver feet silently,All looking up for the love of me.And if I should carol aloud, from aloftAll things that are forked, and horned, and softWould lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,All looking down for the love of me.
[1]Till 1857. The.
[2]Till 1857. The.
[3]1830. ’I the. So till 1853.
[4]1830 Kist.