Then leaping out upon them unseen And kiss them again till they kiss'd me Oh! what a happy life were mine Soft are the moss-beds under the sea; THE MERMAID. WHO would be A mermaid fair, Singing alone, Under the sea, In a golden curl With a comb of pearl, On a throne? I would be a mermaid fair; I would sing to myself the whole of the day; 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 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. 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, From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells; But the king of them all would carry me, 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. SONNET TO J. M. K. My hope and heart is with thee-thou wilt be To scare church-harpies from the master's feast; Half God's good sabbath, while the worn-out clerk Mounted in heaven wilt shoot into the dark Arrows of lightnings. I will stand and mark. |