Mermaids

Have you ever seen a mermaid? He, he!

I'm quite fascinated about such mysterious beings...

So, what ( or who) are the mermaids??

A mermaid, in folklore, is a sea-dwelling creature commonly

represented as having the head and body of a woman and a fishtail

instead of legs. Belief in mermaids, and in their counterpart, mermen

, has existed since earliest times. They are often described as having great beauty and charm, which they use to lure sailors to their

 deaths. In some legends they assumed human shape and married

 mortals. 

The origin of the mermaid is thought by some to be the dugong.

A dugong is a sirenian or sea cow. They are aquatic mamals and they are found  in warm, shallow waters in sheltered regions, where they feed on seaweeds and sea grasses. Sirenians are the only marine mammals, outside of the whale order, that spend their entire lives in the water, and they are the only

marine mammals that feed exclusively on vegetation. Their heavy

thickset bodies are fishlike in form, the tail ending in a horizontally

flattened fin. There are no hind legs, and the forelegs are modified

 into weak flippers. The gray skin is completely hairless, except

 for the bristles around the fleshy lips; the upper lip is cleft into

 two lobes, used for gathering food. The female has a pair of mammary

 glands on the chest, and holds the pup in her flippers while

nursing. It has been speculated that the manatees, which nurse on

 the water's surface, are the source of mermaid legends.

Mermaids

Walk along the shore at midnight,
Listen to the ocean sounds,
Hear the movement of the water,
As it gently slaps the ground.
The stillness of the summer night
Allows the music to come through,
Hear the singing ... hear the sighing,
Notes that are enticing you.

Now look carefully in the moonlight,
Through the froth of ocean waves,
Can you see the tiny sea nymphs?
Do you see the wee mermaids?

Stories tell how they lure sailors,
To their doom beneath the depths,
That may be so ... I do not know,
But on calm nights, they are not threats.

They are a joy to behold,
These ocean damsels of the night,
Who dance and sway the night away,
Apparitions of delight.

Seaweed tresses flowing freely,
With the motion of the waves,
Groomed and combed by pretty seashells,
Unique for all mermaids.

Look closely; see the glimmer,
Starfish jewelry on their gowns,
Dangling earrings made from coral,
Beads of pearls twined around.

Treasure chests of Spanish doubloons,
From sunken ships of years gone by,
Tiddly-winks for playful mermaids,
As they toss them towards the sky.

See the bubbles ... mermaid giggles,
In their games of hide and seek,
They duck between the rocks and boulders,
Swimming in and out the reefs
Beauteous creatures, fish-like bodies,
Rarely viewed by human eye,
Ah, you are more than just a mere man,
If a mermaid you have spied.

Virginia Ellis

Information obtained at Infoplease

Page created on October, 29, 2002