People are like shampoo brands.

They have flashy labels,
And colorful packaging,
They list their qualities upfront,
And what they're really made of
Where they hope
No one
Will see.

Shampoo says it goes best
With its matching conditioner,
And we all like to think
Someone else will make us better,
Make us sexier.
Hair products give instructions,
And we're all conditioned
To believe them.

I've never payed attention
To ingredients,
Only read the positive label,
But now I'm finding out what people
Are really made of,
And I'm now looking
For something more natural.

But what about me?
When you leave out the dye
And the bubbles
What am I made of?
I feel like an unknown trade secret,
And you don't even
Want
To know what they put in those.

I've found myself
Comparing brands lately
And I feel like my own falls short.
I feel like a cheap knock off
Masked as main brand...

But am I really fooling anyone?

I picked a site and pitched my tent,
alone among the trees
The sun was bright, a perfect view,
a sweetly scented breeze

I sat awhile to just relax,
taking in the scene
A warm wind blew across my face,
the feeling so serene

My eyes closed for a minute
when I heard the strangest sound
As if someone was singing,
it was floating all around

I found a path and made my way,
didn’t seem to have a choice
The song it was enchanting me,
hypnotic was the voice

I snuck among the evergreens,
not a sound my steps did make
Till I clearing I did find
along a pristine lake

When then I saw her splashing
in the waters by the shore
My eyes had never seen such beauty
anywhere before

Her hair a glowing shade of brown,
her eyes a burbon gleam
A smile brighter than the sun,
it glistened like a dream

She didn’t see me standing there,
leaning on a tree
I grabbed a stone and skipped it
hoping somehow she would see

Turning as she noticed me,
a startled look she wore
Then dove beneath the surface
in the waters by the shore

I watched the ripples that she made,
their pattern moving slow
I waited for a while
wondering where this girl did go

I soon became quite nervous,
fearing something bad was wrong
And jumped into the water
where she sang her wondrous song

I didn’t see her anywhere,
my heart began to break
Nothing now but silence
I was hearing on this lake

And then I saw some movement
from the corner of my eye
Her head popped from the water
as I fought the urge to cry

She looked at me so funny
while her head turned side to side
I whispered, “Hi, are you okay?
I thought you might have died”

She laughed but didn’t say a word,
my smile quickly grew
When then she was right next to me
and suddenly I knew

This woman that I found today
while following a trail
I now know is a mermaid
as I see her shimmered tail

Its beauty captivated me,
my pulse began to race
Before I even caught my breath
she was right up in my face

She leaned in close and kissed me,
it was such a magic feel
Her lips were soft as morning dew
how could this all be real

She reached below the surface
and retrieved a golden shell
She placed it in my pocket,
I was captured by her spell

We swam all day until the sun
was setting in the west
She never spoke but when she sang
my heart beat through my chest

When one more time she kissed me
and my head began to whirl
I watched now as she swam away
the ripples they did swirl

I was feeling very dizzy
like I could just barely stand
My body oh so heavy
as I made it to dry land

I lay there on the coastline,
shivers raced across my skin
When suddenly I woke up
in my campsite once again

I shook my head and realized
it all had been a dream
I slept most of the day away
at least that’s how it seemed

The stars now twinkled in the sky,
a shining moon above
And what I saw was in my mind,
it wasn't true, this love

When suddenly I felt it,
once again my heart did swell
I reached into my pocket
and produced the golden shell

I guess it really happened
and the kisses felt were real
I've never been so happy
as this joy that I now feel

My lips began to tingle
as they formed into a grin
I can’t wait till tomorrow
to go swimming once again

Because I know I love her,
she’s the one that I adore
And soon we’ll be together
in the waters by the shore

I picked a site and pitched my tent,
alone among the trees
The sun was bright, a perfect view,
a sweetly scented breeze

I sat awhile to just relax,
taking in the scene
A warm wind blew across my face,
the feeling so serene

My eyes closed for a minute
when I heard the strangest sound
As if someone was singing,
it was floating all around

I found a path and made my way,
didn’t seem to have a choice
The song it was enchanting me,
hypnotic was the voice

I snuck among the evergreens,
not a sound my steps did make
Till I clearing I did find
along a pristine lake

When then I saw her splashing
in the waters by the shore
My eyes had never seen such beauty
anywhere before

Her hair a glowing shade of brown,
her eyes a burbon gleam
A smile brighter than the sun,
it glistened like a dream

She didn’t see me standing there,
leaning on a tree
I grabbed a stone and skipped it
hoping somehow she would see

Turning as she noticed me,
a startled look she wore
Then dove beneath the surface
in the waters by the shore

I watched the ripples that she made,
their pattern moving slow
I waited for a while
wondering where this girl did go

I soon became quite nervous,
fearing something bad was wrong
And jumped into the water
where she sang her wondrous song

I didn’t see her anywhere,
my heart began to break
Nothing now but silence
I was hearing on this lake

And then I saw some movement
from the corner of my eye
Her head popped from the water
as I fought the urge to cry

She looked at me so funny
while her head turned side to side
I whispered, “Hi, are you okay?
I thought you might have died”

She laughed but didn’t say a word,
my smile quickly grew
When then she was right next to me
and suddenly I knew

This woman that I found today
while following a trail
I now know is a mermaid
as I see her shimmered tail

Its beauty captivated me,
my pulse began to race
Before I even caught my breath
she was right up in my face

She leaned in close and kissed me,
it was such a magic feel
Her lips were soft as morning dew
how could this all be real

She reached below the surface
and retrieved a golden shell
She placed it in my pocket,
I was captured by her spell

We swam all day until the sun
was setting in the west
She never spoke but when she sang
my heart beat through my chest

When one more time she kissed me
and my head began to whirl
I watched now as she swam away
the ripples they did swirl

I was feeling very dizzy
like I could just barely stand
My body oh so heavy
as I made it to dry land

I lay there on the coastline,
shivers raced across my skin
When suddenly I woke up
in my campsite once again

I shook my head and realized
it all had been a dream
I slept most of the day away
at least that’s how it seemed

The stars now twinkled in the sky,
a shining moon above
And what I saw was in my mind,
it wasn't true, this love

When suddenly I felt it,
once again my heart did swell
I reached into my pocket
and produced the golden shell

I guess it really happened
and the kisses felt were real
I've never been so happy
as this joy that I now feel

My lips began to tingle
as they formed into a grin
I can’t wait till tomorrow
to go swimming once again

Because I know I love her,
she’s the one that I adore
And soon we’ll be together
in the waters by the shore