I heard merpeople conversing
But being hard of hearing
I collected only a few scraps
Force of gravity
Unwavering light
Big plants that never move
Sky that always changes
Sky that always stays the same
But never did I hear them mention
Those shadowy oligarchs
The people of the land

Old seafarers never considered
Mermaids in the phylogenetic sense
Never referring to mermen for example
In any of the old accounts
Nobody ever saw the absurdity
Of centaurs with six appendages
Six also for griffins and angels
Though seraphim have many more
Humanoid centipedes with wings upon their backs
Mermaids with only two
To which is added the piscine fluke

I don’t suppose they knew of my eavesdropping
These inexistent monsters
Monsters only in the phylogenetic sense
They did not behave like Frankenstein
Or the Creature from the Black Lagoon
Seizing raping or murdering
Or interacting in any way
With creatures to them merely mythical
Creatures to them worthy of oblivion
While they themselves live
Out there and below the surface