THE MERMAID'S DAUGHTER
 
This is a secularized version of Jimmy MacCarthy's
song 'Bright Blue Rose'.   In the original MacCarthy song
the clunky word 'geek' is used.​   This should be 'Greek'.  The
Alchemist's (or Philosopher's) Stone is from Greek
mythology.  It is able to turn base metals into gold and offers
the 'Elixir of Life'.​​​ 

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 ​I flew over clear blue water, its surface flat and still  
And I came to land as a crisp new day was dawning
And I welcomed the death of darkness with a purer calm delight
Than did the forests in their dark green mourning
 
And we all should ponder, if we wish to understand,
What brings the strength to conquer inborn fears
And we also should consider, as we sit at fortune’s feet,
How those who've gone before us spent their given years
 
And she, like a sylph below me, swam with silken grace
But as we reached the shore she vanished, leaving me broken  
For she was a mermaid's daughter, born where oceans meet
And I am sick at heart, my dreams unspoken
 
And we all should ponder, if we wish to understand,
What brings the strength to conquer inborn fears
And we also should consider, as we sit at fortune’s feet,
How those who've gone before us spent their given years