Beat down upon his ragged shirt.
His food was gone. He felt so weak.
His limbs were sore. They ached and hurt.
His lips were parched and swollen up.
His throat was dry, and throbbed with pain.
He gazed at the unyielding sky
And hoped and prayed that it would rain
The raft rocked gently to and fro.
He murmured, "Rain, for Heaven's sake!"
He would not dare to fall asleep
For fear that he might never wake.
"Oh, can there never be," he moaned,
"A break from this remorseless heat?"
But as he spoke these very words
There came a breeze, so cool and sweet.
And soon he heard the lovely sound
Of music tinkling through the air,
Until he spied, upon a rock,
A girl with long and golden hair
So moving was the music that
Her fingers played upon her harp
The sailor felt a flow of love
Come gushing forward from his heart
Her lips were red, her teeth like pearls,
Her eyes the colour of the sea.
The sailor saw her fish-like tail,
And worshipped her upon his knee.
He cared no more for anything
Except the mermaid fair he'd found.
He swam towards her from the raft
And she laughed sweetly as he drowned.