#1-Poetry

Siren Song
by: Margaret Atwood

This is the one song everyone
would like to learn: the song
that is irresistible:

the song that forces men to leap overboard in squadrons
even though they see beached skulls

the song nobody knows
because anyone who had heard it
is dead, and the others can't remember.

Shall I tell you the secret
and if I do, will you get me
out of this bird suit?
I don't enjoy it here
squatting on this island
looking picturesque and mythical
with these two feathery maniacs,
I don't enjoy singing
this trio, fatal and valuable.

I will tell the secret to you,
to you, only to you.
Come closer.
This song is a cry for help: Help me!
Only you, only you can,
you are unique

At last. Alas
it is a boring song
but it works every time

The sirens were sea deities who lived on an island called Sirenum scopuli. (Some say they were on Cape Pelorum or Anthemusa.) All these locations were describe to be surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Seamen who sailed near were decoyed with the Sirens' enchanting music to shipwreck on the rocky coast, and the Sirens devoured them.

They seem horrible creature according to the Odyssey, but the first few lines chang my mind. They might be lonely and fatigued siting all day long in the island. However the last stanza shows a big twist. The poem itself was what the sirens sang to enchant sailors. I have no doubt in saying it is a song that sirens really used is they existed. I felt that I want to listen to them. I almost thought that I am really a special person to them who can be trusted to tell their secrets.