mermaids, said Princess Haiku and their ceaseless singing

I am in this mood, said Princess Haiku where I want to return to the sea. It is so close and yet whenever I reach for the green water of silk, dreams and remembrances it vanishes. Perhaps if I knew the right song the sea would open. -A lament for a mermaid's far journey.

mermaids

It is often presumed that mermaids are singing to humans, but I doubt this. I think their most special songs are for each other. What do you think?

The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock

T.S. Eliot - The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock


Shall I part my hair behind?

Do I dare to eat a peach?
I shall wear white flannel trousers, and walk upon the beach.
I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each.

I do not think that they will sing to me.

I have seen them riding seaward on the waves
Combing the white hair of the waves blown back
When the wind blows the water white and black.

We have lingered in the chambers of the sea
By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown
Till human voices wake us, and we drown.


We live in a world that does not protect or support poets. What would life be like without them?