The Mermaid Who Dreamed With Me Poem by JAMES T. ADAIR

In absolute despair
I cast my empty broken heart
into the lonely sea
The one I love didn't notice me
But as I cried tears nobody could see
I noticed lovely mermaids beneath the waves
Each had a heart for me
I sat on the cliff rocks
Spoke to each with kindness
Without any shame
Each lightened my spirits
Each knew me by name
Neither could they reach me by land
Nor could I touch them with my hand
Each one spoke from the heart
From the cool ocean they did understand
I spoke to some in the morning
Spoke to some at night
I didn't question it because it felt so right
Replacing darkness with sharing so bright
In time I learned each one had a story
The caring was natural and not for personal glory
Each of us trapped in our cells
But no longer noticing the bars
We shared so much
The near and the far
More than once wished together on a star
Little by little I began to let them deeper in
No thought of malice or sin
Only thing that mattered
Was the feelings held within
Making up for sharing that's never been
One mermaid dressed in pink
Had on a straw hat with a green bow, I think
She smiled softly but the hat hid her wink
And then she slipped quietly back into the drink
Little was spoken
Little needed to be said
She touched me somehow
Made my cheeks turn red
And all the other mermaids still came
Were so good to me, so kind
Stayed on my mind
Still remembered my name
And I loved each one with my heart, just the same
And then the clouds rolled in
Made everything suddenly seem dim
I looked for my friends but saw none of them swim
I began to doubt if I was really even Jim
My shoulders drooped as the sadness rolled in
Love was so near
And just then I saw her fin
Just as hopes were so thin
She surfaced and she smiled at me
Filled my broken heart with glee
And for the first time in a while
I suddenly felt free
She took her hat off revealing her skin so fare
The upper half of her was beautiful and bare
Her eyes were dark and sultry
The whites so white, framed by her dark hair
Her cheeks were round and gentle
A heart shaped pretty face
With lips full and parted slightly
She had an Angel’s grace
He neck and hands spoke only tenderness
But it was her unspoken care and kindness
That made me wish to know her kiss
I went closer to the water
To see if she was real
We reached our hands toward each other
But our souls were all each could feel
I looked into her eyes
And in them I saw me
As far as I looked into them
As far as I could see
But I could not reach her
And she could not reach me
And we both cried spontaneously
Our tears fell into the sea
But in a dream she shed her scales
Revealing legs so womanly
And somehow by providence
She was leaning close to me
And all the rest, of what I remember
Was ecstasy
She somehow found the best in me
In a dream, forever she stayed with me
As happy as man and woman can ever be
The other mermaids waved kind thoughts to me
Happy that I had found among them, one just for me
As if it's the way it was meant to be
I smiled in heartfelt humility
For all they meant to me
In my heart too, they're still a part of me