Siren Song
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 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.
Margaret Atwood
“Siren Song” is a fitting selection as a representative of the work of its author Margaret Atwood, a major Canadian writer whose poetry reflects her deep and lifelong interest in mythology. She is, however, more acclaimed as a fiction writer whose novel The Blind Assassin won the Booker Prize in 2000 to join her many other awards and shortlisting in numerous others including the Orange Prize and the IMPACT Dublin.
“Siren Song” may also be a product of her association with feminist writing, since the persona’s monologue is a statement on the woman imprisoned and stereotyped in a patriarchal world, which may be discerned behind the sarcasm and irony of a femme fatal who outwits and conquers men. This persona is one of the Sirens of Greek
