The Poet and The Mermaid

A few thought’s and pointers for the poem: - I have always tried to build at least 3 topics into my poetry. This one has many more parts to it than most. The Poet and the Mermaid talks strongly to the Id, Ego and Superego through each of the main characters, though just who the main characters are shifts substantially. The Gods represent personal aspects, parts of the human make-up and things we do. The pixies, goblins, sprites, elves etc. are the playful, hurtful, mischievous, dangerous aspects of life. The references to being up amongst the gods is both theatrical in it’s height aspect, relating to the cheap seats and the fact of watching the acts, and also is religious in concept. Both Freud’s originally postulated basic drives, self preservation and Eros – the driving force related to sexual urges and preservation of the species – come through in the text. The Poet and The Mermaid carry important personal traits inherent in each of us and my idea was to have you swing between liking and disliking both characters at certain points of the text. You’re not sure who is telling the story deliberately and even the beginning lines where ‘you bump right into me’ are they talking to you the reader or ‘you’ the object of the story. The Mermaids strength of character, behavioral traits, apparent care for self first/others second make you want to shake her one minute and cuddle her the next. The poets weaknesses and wimpishness but undying love and physical strength where he ‘dove and clenched’, his near drowning experience – self inflicted perhaps – his belief in the inevitable and desire for his ‘true love’ move the reader through many emotions. According to the Chinese understanding of nature, water is a symbol of the elemental force of yin. Water is the essence of life for the Taoist. The Christian church uses water for baptism and many have a belief in its healing powers, of cleansing the soul. Freud talks of water dreams re