Deep in the ocean, cold and wide, Where royal mer-folk rise and hide, The youngest princess longs to see, The world of mortals, wild and free. At fifteen years she leaves the deep, Where sunlit waves and creatures sleep, She saves a prince from drowning death, And breathes a kiss upon his breath. She trades her voice of melodic song, For human legs to walk and run along, Each burning step she takes on land, Is walking glass on searing sand. The wicked witch demands her tongue, Before the fateful spell is sung, No happy ending guaranteed, Just silent pain for mortal need. The prince admires her face and grace, Yet marries someone in her place, Believing her the one who saved, His shipwrecked body from the wave. Her sisters bring a crimson knife, To take the sleeping monarch's life, "Shed his warm blood upon your feet, And sea-nymph life will once more greet." She throws the weapon in the foam, Refusing death to find her home, Her heart breaks wide at morning light, As she dissolves into foam that is white. No bubbling spray or ocean crest, Can give her sorrow any rest, She turns to spirit, clear and bright, A daughter of the water and light. Through gentle deeds and trials passed, A immortal soul gained at last, Three hundred years of patient grace, To win a heavenly dwelling place. So mourn the mermaid's tragic choice, Who traded all to lose her voice, Yet found a love beyond the sea, That sets the mortal spirit free...
