MERMAIDS
THE NATURE OF THE SIREN
Strange things indeed Are seen in the sea-world:
Men say that mermaids Are like to maidens
In breast and body But not so below:
From the navel netherward Nothing looks human,
For there they are fishes And furnished with fins.
These prodigies dwell In a perilous passage
Where swirling waters Swallow men's vessels;
Cheerily they sing In their changeable voices
That are high and sweet And hopeful of harm.
This song makes shipmen Forget their steering
And sink into drowses, And deeply they dream:
For their vessels are sunken, Their voyages over.
But wise men and wary Will turn from these wiles
And often escape That evil embrace,
Being warned of the mermaids. Surely this monster,
Half fish and half woman, Must harbor some meaning.
SIGNIFICATION
Many of mankind Resemble the mermaid,
Without they wear lambskin, Within they are wolves;
Their doctrine is righteous, Their deeds are the Devil's;
Their actions are not In accord with their utterance;
These two-natured creatures Will swear by the cross,
By the sun and the moon, To steer you astray;
With the sweetest of speeches They swindle their fellows;
They will steal both your substance And soul with their falsehood.
The Middle English Bestiary
