Ellin Anderson - The Little Mermaid lyrics

On littered beaches where I lay At rise of tide, at fall of day, I saw the living stars' distress, And wept to watch their helplessness. I thought to leave the open sea To those more open and less free: And so I cut through fin and spine, For both the harp and sword are mine. I shuffled off my scaly sheath And hobbled down to kick the teeth Of muddy waves that gulped the shore, Never to feel them any more. I sought steep things, and thought these things Must lead to higher, deeper things If I could leave the sand to find A fortress of another kind. My lips were salt, I could not speak; My legs were stone, yet I could seek Some citadel where love would spare One silent spirit of the air. With track of blood, and still in pain, I found a white and purple plain Of flowers, bright as shells and foam, And limped towards my mountain home. The sun whirled like a hammer-wheel That spun in search of anvil steel; And looking North, I saw a Crown Where blades of light came singing down. No wave had ever reached as high As cliffs that breached the azure sky; And though I shivered, weak and small, I did not feel afraid at all. The mountains parted regally Above the diamond clarity Of water, where a stony ford Made music for the secret fjord. And there, upon the silver sand I found a leaf that fit my hand: Fresh emerald touched with fire-glow That spoke of storms and endless snow. Through dreaming eyes, I watched the lake, But something startled me awake Within that far and lonely wild: The warbling laughter of a child, And then another, as they came Towards me, calling out my name, And took my hands, and tugged my hair, And led me to a meadow, where The hammered gold spilled off the sun Like joy, to crown each little one Who shelters where my hands entwine A harp and sword forever mine.