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Hans Christian Anderson's
The Little Mermaid
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Mer
Ancestor or myth? Or are you still there
beneath the waves, the waters
hidden deep within our Mother
hiding from your sisters and brothers
who once hunted and misunderstood
you who move as one with ocean
and creature alike. Who dive and
rise as dolphins and whales do.
Human or creature? Or are you
both? Do we know who we are?
We walk too tall among the others
pretend we are not one of them
those creatures who roam our
earth. Animal we are, but we
misunderstood our place.
You, ethereal, homo aquaticus
beautiful being upon the waves
are what we have dreamed into
legend, then myth, but then
we began to see you again
in books, logs of historical record,
once more we wonder. Are you there?
Shadows beneath the waves
beneath our conscious minds
deep in the sub ocean of our
imaginations you begin to rise.
We begin to understand again,
but can we take it all in
begin this life again from
a new place, as one with all the others?
Or will it drown us? This sea of
knowledge that we are no different
than you or the dolphin or the whale
or the sea lion or the ape washing
in the waters of life who stands
on two legs and wonders…
© 2012 Joanne Elliott
This poem was inspired by Animal Planet's, Mermaids: The Body Found. It didn't seem for real and was very sensationalized as most cable shows are now, but it did get me thinking.
The video below is a music video by Raina, the Halifax Mermaid. The song is For the First Time by Drew Rogers.
The video below is a music video by Raina, the Halifax Mermaid. The song is For the First Time by Drew Rogers.
This poem is for dVerse Poets Pub Open Link Night.
how cool would it be if it was real you know...a bit of magic...its always there just beyond our view you know...would not surprise me but then again it would...smiles...
ReplyDeleteIt would be so cool! But so many of those cable TV channels have become so weird... I do wish it was real...there does seem to be something there lingering just beneath the surface.
Deletei always wanted to be a mermaid when i was a kid...there's magic in being able to begin again and you can never be sure if too much knowledge makes you wise or breaks you in the end...i like the questions in this...
ReplyDeleteHans Christian Anderson's The Little Mermaid was my favorite story as a kid...probably still is. :-) I loved to play in the water.
DeleteIt gave me lots to think about and brought up many questions...as you can tell.
This builds well to its conclusion, Joanne, an excellent finishing stanza--and our desire for myth is independent of evidence or reality, coming from some part of us we never really know. Yet something of that mermaid is in all of us. Or so you make me feel here.
ReplyDeleteThank you for insights Joy.
DeleteI saw the advertisement for this, that alone was enough to get my mind wondering...and what a journey you've explored with your words...if we did KNOW would we then change our ways? Would "people" of the sea somehow warrant more respect than we show the creatures we KNOW we are destroying? A fantastic "mythical" weave with a firm and rooted foundation in our present world...and our present ways. Fantastic write Joanne!
ReplyDeleteI do wonder about this...as you can tell. And I wonder why some of us are so afraid of placing ourselves within creation. They seem afraid of being just an 'animal' and not special. But, to me, we're all special. Whether we're on two legs, four legs, in the sea or the air, planted in the ground...we're all here and have a place in the circle. There is no pyramid of hierarchy in my mind.
DeleteThanks for commenting Natasha.
Hooked me! Great write!! TY.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve! And thank you for tweeting my poem. I appreciate it.
DeleteI like this one a lot, dear heart. Especially
ReplyDeletebeautiful being upon the waves
are what we have dreamed into
legend
I enjoy your imagery in this one. I have dreamed of mermaids since I was twelve years old and saw that midlife crisis movie, "Mr. Peabody's Mermaid," one of my all-time faves. In those days I preferred to swim underwater, and could stay down about two minutes, frightening lifeguards...
Fun to think you liked "The Little Mermaid" as a child.
If you can't stop, wave!
Thank you love.
DeleteSuch a precocious child you were. ;-) And thank you for sharing that movie with me.
"Ancestor or myth? Or are you still there beneath the waves, the waters hidden deep within our Mother hiding from your sisters and brothers..." ... I love what you did there. We all do share this world, just like siblings. And yes, even the mythological creatures have a spot on this world :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting Alex.
DeleteYes, they do have a place as do we all...all including the those on four legs and in the air, etc. Sometimes some of us humans forget we're a part of it all, too.
'deep in the sub ocean of our
ReplyDeleteimaginations you begin to rise.
We begin to understand again,
but can we take it all in
begin this life again from
a new place, as one with all the others?' I love how you use this to make a point about environmental ethics. You give us rich ground for provoking thought. I'm watching Steven Hawking talk about the universe this evening and enjoyed this journey into the mysteries of the ocean and myth.
Thank you Anna. I appreciate your comments.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy Steven Hawking's talk.
A cool and wonderful write, Joanne.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ayala. :-)
DeleteI like how this is halfway in this world and halfway in another. And also to sort of piggyback off what Alex said, you could argue that myth is as real as anything else.
ReplyDeleteThank you. And true about myth...
DeleteThat closing stanza is just outstanding! I really enjoyed this.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteYou've made me wonder with this poem. :) For me, it's a metaphor for questioning yourself, who you really are and where you are coming from, what's your spirit.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this poem very much. Thanks for this provocative piece. :)
You're welcome. And thank you for commenting.
DeleteVery creative and vivid imagery created in this thought provoking poem. I really enjoyed this... Great write!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteI like to believe that they are real as they are full of mystery and knowledge ~ Enjoyed the share including the video ~
ReplyDeleteJoanne I love the poem and the combination of video, art and we must be friends...
ReplyDeleteI believe in most things unbelievable. There is a yeti, aliens exist and mermaids are a certainty. Amazing what a show like this can inspire. Thanks for sharing x
ReplyDeleteIt is isn't it? :-) Thanks for commenting
Delete