THE MERMAID'S RED UMBRELLA

THE MERMAID’S RED UMBRELLA

 

By the sandy surf and wishy-washy waves

Of silver and blue, sheen and gloss

Lived once a very lonely mermaid Nell

Of the sea shale’s, spangled starfishes and mussel shells

She often watched as the rains 

Pitter-Pattered

Every time the sky weighed heavy

Clouds as dark as navy blue, steely grey and char black

In the continent of pale brown

Or white leather tanned people

They holding bright umbrellas

Like the colours of rainbows

Violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and red

She wished and wished very much she had…..

One of those strange gadgets

They held in their hand

With one press of the golden tab

Would it arise so splendidly and cover

Over heads, bodies and trunks of even elephants

Parading down circus carnivals of

Acrobats, jugglers and clowns ‘JUBILEE’

Without any reigns or tethers

Like those she pulled of her sea horse sleigh

Bobbing up and down the glassy sea waves

Those funny gadgets

With a single knob on a curvy handle

They seemed to treasure and carry around with them everywhere

She wished one red red brolly

From under the splitter-splatter and the pitter-patter

Of clouds as dark as navy blue, steely grey and char black

On a bright rainy day

That drizzled down shiny blue and transparent

Refreshing rain drops

Unlike the salty precipitated tear drops

So pearly and white of the sea foam and treasures

 

Mermaid Nell didn’t even know the name

Of the huge sprawling machines

That sometimes they undid with their hands

And sometimes sprung like an upturned flower

With a press of a single button on a curvy handle

So beautiful spreading over heads

She compared them to a butterfly

She sighted beneath an upside down flower pistil

Sitting pretty with antennae

For it looked like an upturned Blue Bell

With a stem, sheltering from rains and thunderstorm spells

The anonymous name she never knew

Of the funny contraption

And wished so much she’d learn from the forest dell

They all whispered in her ear one day

The biggest dragon flies, the best fat bumble bees

The hornets, wasps and the stinging honey bees

“UMB-ER-RELLA”

And sometimes

 “BZZUB……. BUZZUB……BZZUBBY……BEE…..

BUMB-ERE-RELLA

For pretty pretty CIN-DER-ELLA”

 

She pined so much and pined she did

She’d own a pretty BUMB-ERE-RELLA

Of a pretty Cin-der-ella

All for keeps and it’d be fully red

The colour that matched the auburn

Kiss curls on her wispy little head

Now all the Mer-kingdom

When she dived below to tell

Dear mermaid Nell of the strange gadget

The funny BUMB-ERE-ELLA

With a single knob on a curvy handle

The Mer-King and Mer-Queen

Didn’t bother much at first

But seeing her sulk everyday

They decided to find her a pretty

BUMB-ERE-RELLA

Just like she’d seen in the Asian kingdom

Of leathery white or pale brown tanned complexions

And eyes as slant as needley pins

For pretty CIND-ERE-ELLA’S

With a single knob

On a curvy handle!

 

First they approached the big red snapper fish

And with a curtsey and bow

Politely asked if he could turn

Into that strange gadget with a single knob

On a curvy handle

For it was red in colour

But all it did was snap his jaws

And deemed he could not open it wide

As wide as a jelly fish mouth

And told them it would serve like butter

The strange butter-uppity device

With a single button on a curvy knob

 

The Mer-King and Mer-Queen

Both thought for a while

And were surprised to see its gait

The giant jelly fish

Like a transparent jelly flower upside down

‘Twas alright if it was not so bright red

It would justly serve the cause

Of the funny brolly

With a curvy handle with a single knob

But as they passed by its side

And it opened its invisible umbrella wide

So they asked the jelly fish urn

“Would you serve a BUMB-ERE-ELLA?

For our little mermaid daughter Nell”

Schools of tiny anchovies

Filled its mouth to its delight

It just couldn’t answer the question right

Whether it would serve a BUMB-ERE-RELLA

For a mermaid CIND-ERE-RELLA Nell of course!

Comical, conical or upright

It skidded from their sight

Trying to gobble what was in his mouth

So full ‘twas he couldn’t even whisper or shout

Rather silently skidded away

Into the dark blue teal currents

That swept along the invisible hood

Of the BUMB-ERE-RELLA stooge

 

Then they also took to ask

A large foreboding shark

But were quite upset

For the jaws would open just like

A BUMB-ERE-ELLA monster fish!

Holy Moley! Teeth like sharp saws

However if only ‘twere upside down

Otherwise it would splinter

Flesh, bones, fins, tails and skeletons

To shreds and smithereens

In a trice

“YOU’D BE DEAD!”

They shrieked and shouted

They also asked a puffer fish

It could puff air and turn as big as a bloated balloon

Serving purpose as a BUMB-ERE-ELLA

As one would press an automatic button

Swish exercise of oxygen and muscles

Or even the porcupine fish they questioned

With prickles so many all around

It would serve well as a tactile BUMB-ERE-RELLA

Justly for the cause

Of discouraging spies around their

Pretty mermaiden Nell

Cind-ere-ella

A porcupine BUMB-ERE-RELLA

However both the puffer fish and porcupine

With fresh bubbles of oxygen and spiny prickles

Declared it was too much exercise

The knight in armour clad crab

Or croquet king Lobster would suit best

For such a prank as that

To open like a BUMB-ERE-RELLA toy

 

When the Mer-king and Mer-queen

Visited the sea crustaceans house

They thought their mermaid daughter Nell

Would struggle with such outdated knobs as them

For their jolly pincers before she tried to pry open

Would fight her like a pair of tongs

Better declare them knights of supper without

Cause to worry or fret

And so they approached by far

A cod

Shiny and slick

Silvery and quick

Gleaming in the dark

The odd cod master

Well it opened and flapped

With its sleek silvery fins

To wavy lines of an umbrella fish standing squad

Ready to open at the Mer-king and Mer-queen’s order

Like a BUMB-ERE-RELLA

But all were swept by the ocean current

Till once a coily snake eel reeled and rattled

Came around the Mer-king and Mer-queen

“Goodness that would definitely be an electric eel

BUMB-ER-R---E----EELLA

 More than a hundred volts!”

As they’d learnt from the jolts, shudders and bolts

Of the thunder storms with currents

They cried in horror

“YOU’D BE DEAD!”

And swished tails to the next sword-nosed knight in queue

O’ they exclaimed in glee

“She’d definitely love this valiant one

As a BUMB-ERE-RELLA contraption

It would protect our mermaid Nell”

Before a great big fight commenced soon after

Goodness me betwixt the other shining knights

Too many sword nosed BUMB-ERE-RELLA’S

“Too much tinker, tailors in suits and armours

Sword nosed fish fights and clamour

To be a knight in shining BUMB-ERE-RELLA

For our dear Cinderella mermaid child”

They sighed and couldn’t deny

“It wouldn’t suit the purpose”

Both the royal couple swishing tails in vain agreed

 

And so they came across a Galapagos giant tortoise

It would ride her just like a BUMB-ERE-RELLA scooter

With its strong carapace around

Like a befitting crown

“O’ but wouldn’t it hide our darling mermaid daughter Nell

Who they were very very proud of

To show case every now and then

Her dainty head and her glowing skin

Her coral hair and her purple weed necklace

That matched her violet lacy tulles

All would be hidden

Now if you may please…….”

And so they proceeded forward to another quaint shiny

Giant knave of armour

They asked the plastic knave

King of the waves

A sea prawn crustacean

Of all hats and trades

To suit himself a BUMB-ERE-RELLA

For their mermaid Cind-ere-rella

Daughter Nell

“He’d be of course an ace up our sleeves

So very fashionable and demure”

They jointly ventured to pack his plastic armour

To take back to the castle for their beloved mermaid daughter Nell

Taking such a prawn hat like a BUMB-ERE-RELLA

Would serve like a plastic suit of honour

Underneath the showers of the black thunderous clouds

Waiting to drizzle upon their little coy mermaiden daughter Nell

So they collected the handy-dandy

Jack-a-spandy man in his plastic shell

“It would suit well

For the little BUMB-ERE-RELLA gadget

All curvy and with a button inside!”

Twain declared in a great huff and stammer

“A BUMB-BE-RE-ERR-ELLA”

Now the Princess Nell

Was so hungry the Mer-king and Mer-Queen

Couldn’t tell

And she ate the short giant curvy button knob

For her luncheon meal

The Mer-king and Mer-queen

Were flabbergasted and didn’t know

What else to do

And how they could steal a steal

As a pretty red BUMB-ERE-RELLA

For their mermaid daughter Nell

 

Nell the mermaiden

Sadly swam high atop the craggy shore

And sat on a high rock where

She could see both land and sea

The sea gulls tossed the bright blue fish

In air as they dipped their beaks

Into the water for a snack

The hermit crab looked askance

At the great blue herons and egrets

As if they had to use pincers

To fight them before they would sweep

Him off his poor sneakers

Whilst the stork just dipped his blue stockings

And finished a shoal of fish

Down his throat one by one

Yet the mermaiden Nell

Sat and sulked

Till she saw a red thing

Bobbling up and down in the water

“What could it be?”

She thought excitedly

So she splashed around to see

And was surprised

It was a bright red BUMB-ERE-RELLA

I mean an umbrella

She took it and fidgeted upwards and downwards

At the curvy handle was the knob

She couldn’t see

So the whale came around splashing

Blowing a fountain through his spout

And directed the snaky eel like a clout

 The sword nosed fish

Who all surrounded her

Even the crab saved in the nick of time

Followed the lobster

Whilst the cod and jelly fish

Galapagos the giant tortoise

The red whooper whipper-snapper fish

Shark, buffer puffer and the porcupine

All surrounded her

For they wished to grant her dream

Of a red BUMB-ERE-RELLA umbrella

And nudged the lonely mermaiden Nell

To press the button on the curvy handle

Lo! It opened the brightest of all anemone flowers

A colour cherry red so bold almost a spark of rosy paint

 

Circling around pretty mermaid Nell

They chorused together what they felt

“A spark of rosy red paint

That’s only found on sea divers

 Red flippers and snorkelers that matched

For a scuba diving show

Or those red BUMBERELLA’S on the shore

Where people sat or sometimes lolled

Underneath its shadowy shade

On collapsible deck chairs in a row

The beach goers like massive sea lions, seals and penguins

Taking naps whilst sneaking a peek at the colossal sunny horizon

Blending with the soothing seas

 So bright cerise and reddish

Like rich wine in glasses tinkled

 And sunset on the horizon blinked!

Even life buoys that life guards

Gave to swimmers in case they’d drown

Beneath sea waves

Floated in big cherry red tiers around their waists

Also shovels and spades so red cherry

That little boys and girls

Made lovely sand castles along the sandy bay!

Or lovely hammocks smeared with red Injun rosy war paint

Those that swayed side to side hanging lazily between shady tree trunks”

They’d seen so many of such red BUMB-ERE-RELLA’S an array

They all called them by that funny name!

 Near the coast of that strange island

 

Thence all got together and searched high and low

Until they found that strange BUMB-ERE-RELLA

With a single knob on a curvy handle

And saw somebody’s float like blubber

The cruise ship that sailed along

With a load of tourist landlubbers

To the land of pale brown or white tanned leather

Skins

And those that alighted

They all were different colours

White, black, brown, pale faced and Redskins

And the mermaid Nell

Got her wish

Of one of the many many rainbow colours

A BUMB-ERE-RELLA red and glowing

Under the blue turquoise skies

Whilst rain splitter-splattered

And pitter-pattered

With blobs of water so big

Blue and refreshing

And not like salty precipitated

Tear drops of the ocean shores!

The happy mermaid Nell

Wasn’t lonely anymore!

With her sea-flower anemone Bumberella

She opened whenever she visited the shore side rocks

The mermaid’s red umbrella!