AnElephant and a Mermaid

Mermaid, by Emma, aged 11

AnElephantCant hide his bewonderment
At various magical mythical creatures
Like Centaurs and Yeti
And Unicorns and Nessie
And the occasional French Language Teacher

He suspects that Ents are quite barking mad
And Emmy’s Wood Sprite fascinates
A Giant on a Beanstalk
A Mouse runs up a Clock
But the bizarrest of all is the Mermaid

There are those who transcend expectations
Like Bob Marley when he reggaed Jamming
Ali is the Greatest
Madiba* the Creatist
But a Mermaid is half Woman half Salmon

A Mermaid is an elegant mixture
Lithe and graceful and not ever stout
She can’t ride a bike
Or go for a hike
But she swims and leaps like a River Spey Trout

Now AnElephantCant tell her nationality
She is a Seejungfrau if she is German
Une Sirene en France
A Selkie* perchance
But what she searches for is a Merman

AnElephant wonders just what is her Porpoise
He finds so Minnow things quite amazing
She has pretty scales
An extremely cute tail
And that brings him at last to the
FIN

*Madiba – Nelson Mandela’s Xhosa clan name
*Selkie – Mythological creature found in Celtic folklore