When I was a lowly bard many years ago 
I bought passage on a ship and stored my things below 
We were bound for distant lands and set off in the night 
But about halfway there, a storm gave us a fright 

The ship was tossed upon the waves and floundered on its side 
I had fallen overboard and drifted with the tide 
As I sank below the sea, struggling to rise 
A mermaid came and helped me! I couldn’t believe my eyes.
  
Her skin was a midnight blue, her scales were darker still 
Her hair was wound with seaweed and she breathed through a gill 
She fed me some unknown herb and took me further down 
And though I still couldn’t breathe, I knew I wouldn’t drown 

She took me to her city way down below the murk 
And I saw more merfolk there, busy with their work 
Practicing the magic that only merfolk knew 
They spoke in an ancient tongue and helped me to renew 

It seemed like an eternity was spent below the sea 
Watching as the merfolk took good care of me 
But the herb was wearing off and I needed to breathe 
So, she took me to the shore, and then she took her leave.  

That’s the true story of when I almost died 
But there was a mermaid who saved me from the tide 
What’s the lesson that I’ve learned now that I’m back on land? 
Only tell the stories that you have seen firsthand!