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 the beached skulls
the song nobody knows
because anyone who has 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.
Atwood, Margaret. Selected Poems : 1965-1975. United Kingdom, Houghton Mifflin, 1987.
Why I chose this poem
As I started this project, I realized I already knew almost all this poem, by heart, by accident, from my first college poetry class when I was 17. I don't know if I love it as well as I did then. I'm getting less cynical in my old age, but I still love the girl who loved it.