Fable Of The Mermaid And The Drunks Poem by Pablo Neruda
Fable Of The Mermaid And The Drunks
All those men were there inside,
when she came in totally naked.
They had been drinking: they began to spit.
Newly come from the river, she knew nothing.
She was a mermaid who had lost her way.
The insults flowed down her gleaming flesh.
Obscenities drowned her golden breasts.
Not knowing tears, she did not weep tears.
Not knowing clothes, she did not have clothes.
They blackened her with burnt corks and cigarette stubs,
and rolled around laughing on the tavern floor.
She did not speak because she had no speech.
Her eyes were the colour of distant love,
her twin arms were made of white topaz.
Her lips moved, silent, in a coral light,
and suddenly she went out by that door.
Entering the river she was cleaned,
shining like a white stone in the rain,
and without looking back she swam again
swam towards emptiness, swam towards death.
So interesting, all of the different views... This is not about mermaids, nor drunks, but rather the unwilling loss of innocence. The way someone can take your soul... (I have always thought of this poem metaphorically.)
Not about the unwilling loss of innocence... about the willing loss. The poem is about the choice one makes to be corrupted, or to remain innocent. We face these choices daily.
This is a poem about rape. After the men raped her, she drowned herself. 'She was like a mermaid taken by drunk sailors'
ScintillatingModern Poem Of The Day! 5 Stars full. I have enjoyed very much his very intelligent words
Obscenities drowned her golden . Not knowing tears, she did not weep tears. Not knowing clothes, she did not have clothes. They blackened her with burnt corks and cigarette stubs, Typical Pablo Nerduda. As oft told Fables can become truths in folks mouth
I love the ending sometimes it does not end well and that is real life.
Many different aspects of soul-searching for every reader to interpret.
my child hated this poem as much as the ice age baby
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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1/14/2025 10:40:37 AM # 1.0.0
Actually Sarah Mann, I happen to think you are very wrong. It's more so about the conflict between nature and society. Allison Mo did a brilliant job of quoting Yahoo Answers on this one. You really should use proper citation when using a direct quote from a source though, Allison. Otherwise, it could be mistaken as plagiarism.
calling em out like dat?