Stay Away, My Lads
You all have heard the legends of the singers of the sea;
Well now believe them, lads, and heed my words if you love me.
There's evil in a woman's heart who whispers of a tryst,
And you, my blameless, lovelorn fools, are powerless to resist.
Oh, stay away! my lads, if you should ever have the notion
Of following a mermaid to the bottom of the ocean.
You all have heard the legends of the maidens of the land;
There's evil in a woman's heart who beckons from the sand.
Beware of drifting boats that hold a damsel lost in mist,
For you, my blameless, lovelorn fools, are powerless to resist.
Oh, stay away! my lads, if you should ever have the notion
Of following a human woman right out of the ocean.
Stay away, my lads, from the music of the waters.
Stay away, my lads, from the fishermen's daughters.
The moon bobbed, round and silver on the water, calm and black;
Young Isla simply had to rise and walk the well-worn track,
While Coral simply had to sing aloud, despite her fear
That her voice would break the surface and arrest a human ear,
And Isla, walking barefoot on the rough, familiar ground,
Forgot to fear, forgot to loathe the captivating sound.
She wandered from her father's house and past the fishing docks;
She walked the cliff paths, up and down, and clambered over rocks,
While all the time the sky became less clear, the moon less bright,
'Til Isla knew that she was lost in long and lonely night.
When Coral heard the weeping of a damsel lost in mist,
Her tender heart was sore and she was powerless to resist.
She found the maiden of the land on perilous rock pile
And, really, she could not believe the tears were only guile,
So Coral broke the surface with her hand, touched Isla's knee,
And Isla stopped her crying for the singer of the sea.
Their eyes met through the water, though the darkness was so thick;
Cold skin touched warm, so tenderly, there surely was no trick.
Oh, learn the truth! my lasses, now you both have had the notion
Of following each other to the brink of land and ocean.
Both smiled, so briefly, just before the rocks began to crumble,
And Coral ducked out of their way while Isla took a tumble.
The spell was broken by the time the lasses found each other
And, with all trust lost between them, each thought only of her brother;
Thus, grasping shoulders, both resisted all attempts to swim.
Now I must to do her, they thought, what she would do to him.
They found them in the morning, half on land and half in water,
And they each cursed the other for their poor, dead daughter.
© A.R. Collins, 2019
Well now believe them, lads, and heed my words if you love me.
There's evil in a woman's heart who whispers of a tryst,
And you, my blameless, lovelorn fools, are powerless to resist.
Oh, stay away! my lads, if you should ever have the notion
Of following a mermaid to the bottom of the ocean.
You all have heard the legends of the maidens of the land;
There's evil in a woman's heart who beckons from the sand.
Beware of drifting boats that hold a damsel lost in mist,
For you, my blameless, lovelorn fools, are powerless to resist.
Oh, stay away! my lads, if you should ever have the notion
Of following a human woman right out of the ocean.
Stay away, my lads, from the music of the waters.
Stay away, my lads, from the fishermen's daughters.
The moon bobbed, round and silver on the water, calm and black;
Young Isla simply had to rise and walk the well-worn track,
While Coral simply had to sing aloud, despite her fear
That her voice would break the surface and arrest a human ear,
And Isla, walking barefoot on the rough, familiar ground,
Forgot to fear, forgot to loathe the captivating sound.
She wandered from her father's house and past the fishing docks;
She walked the cliff paths, up and down, and clambered over rocks,
While all the time the sky became less clear, the moon less bright,
'Til Isla knew that she was lost in long and lonely night.
When Coral heard the weeping of a damsel lost in mist,
Her tender heart was sore and she was powerless to resist.
She found the maiden of the land on perilous rock pile
And, really, she could not believe the tears were only guile,
So Coral broke the surface with her hand, touched Isla's knee,
And Isla stopped her crying for the singer of the sea.
Their eyes met through the water, though the darkness was so thick;
Cold skin touched warm, so tenderly, there surely was no trick.
Oh, learn the truth! my lasses, now you both have had the notion
Of following each other to the brink of land and ocean.
Both smiled, so briefly, just before the rocks began to crumble,
And Coral ducked out of their way while Isla took a tumble.
The spell was broken by the time the lasses found each other
And, with all trust lost between them, each thought only of her brother;
Thus, grasping shoulders, both resisted all attempts to swim.
Now I must to do her, they thought, what she would do to him.
They found them in the morning, half on land and half in water,
And they each cursed the other for their poor, dead daughter.
© A.R. Collins, 2019
