“Come away with me,” Said the Night,
As it crept upon the beach,
Laying its thick blackness over all,
The sand, the waters, the empty shells.

“Come away,” to the Mermaid,
As she lay in the surf,
Waiting as always for morning,
Elusive as she was,
Waiting in the waters of the ocean.

“I can’t…” She whispered,
Flinging herself to the depths of her ocean,
Into the shadows of the deep,
The coldness of her grief.

“Mermaid,” the Night replied from above,
“I see you always, clinging to the ocean of your tears,
Elusive to all else around you,
I cannot help but wonder what keeps you there?”

Buried in her suffering deep beneath the surface,
She hid from the truth of the Night,
For she heard that nothing good could come from it.

“Mermaid, I know of your fear,
I know of your search for the one,
I know many times you have believed,
Only to be flung back into the sea…
So please…just listen to me, And come away…”

Slowly rising and peaking her head above the waves,
“Night, I wait upon the Sun,
There was a time he shone for so long upon me,
And I would bask in the rays of his warmth,
In the blissful summer days.”

The Night lay upon the water,
Listening to her words,
Wishing he only had two hands,
To take her into his arms,
And show her the world.

“My Sun has not shone,
For such a long time,” she went on,
“I fear he will never return,
He set far to the west,
And I watch the east,
For it is said that’s where he will be.”

“Mermaid,” Said the Night,
“I am no Sun, but if I were,
I would have stayed.”

“My Sun must shine elsewhere,”
She looked towards the west,
Wishing she could but have the courage,
To swim such a far distance.

Although the Night treasured what little time he had,
With the Mermaid hopelessly ever looking west,
And the night ever admiring the Mermaid,
He knew it would never last.

“Oh, Mermaid,” said the Night,
“I know you will leave me one day,
To drift away across the ocean,
That abandoned you long ago,
To that faraway place your heart belongs.”

With a tear she replied,
“Would that it were true,
Night, you have been a good friend to me,
Though my heart was always out of reach,
Even to myself, I thank you for listening.”

Struggling within himself, how much he wanted her,
The Night gave in and offered the only thing he could,
His aid in her journey far away.

“Mermaid, tell me what you need…”

“I need the sun…”

“Tell me what you want…”

“I want the warmth he gives my heart…”

“Tell me what you lack that you cannot have him?”

Shaking, she replied, “I lack the courage to try.”

“If you cannot have the Sun, Mermaid,
Then you must go to him,
You must follow your heart,
No matter how far it takes you,
You must gather every ounce of strength you have,
So that you may find your happiness.”

“Night, please, do not taunt me with the impossible,”
She drew illegible symbols on the shore,
By the light of the stars.

With a heavy heart the Night sighed,
Knowing it was very possible,
Knowing that she had it in her already,
Knowing as he lied to her that he would lend,
All the strength and courage he could find,
In his deep, dark depths,
The courage to face the unknown,
That his words were only the catalyst to a fateful end.

And so with a farewell she was gone,
Away to the west he saw her go,
Like a fragile bird just learning to fly,
And finding such freedom therein.

She was going to find her sun,
The love her heart desired,
The warmth her soul craved,
In a happy ending the Night could never give.