Mermaid

My song muffled beneath a glass dome.
Out of water a stuffed ornament.
I cannot tempt men anymore.
My voice entice men to shipwreck
on rocks of their own gullibility.

A warning beast constructed by men
half fish, half woman meant to deter.
Muted curiosity for exhibition to all
women and beasts as would speak
up for themselves to be accused of stridency,
irrelevancy, prattle and nonsense,

Whilst our enforced silence is considered
dumbness and linked to our looks. To you
we are slippery fish, or fishwomen capture
you in our nets to be beheaded and filleted.
Ever make a fantasy of another as a real
woman you cannot manage or control.