Old golden days of a little mermaid
With a bright red tail and pale skin
Swimming the shallow waters of blue
And endless building of gray sand castles
Quite a distance from the shore
Guards the red-tailed mermaid
Is a tranquil man in his sixties
Clothed in his faded orange shirt
Finally the sun tired of shining
Kisses goodbye the vast turquoise sea
The little mermaid leaves her tail
And seeks solace in the senescent eyes
Now where the little mermaid swam
Are fish cages floating side by side
And where the aged man stood guard
Is an empty longing space
—
Loraine Jo is a Secondary Education student from Balingasag, Misamis Oriental.