According to the speaker of the poem, the actual song is a cry for help. The "siren" that is speaking tells us a secret that this song, the one that lures men overboard, is actually a desperate cry for someone to come and rescue her from her "birdsuit."
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 songis a cry for help: Help me!
Atwood, a well-known feminist, is attacking men for their stupidity in this poem. She comments that although her job is "boring", it "works every time." There are no unique men, they are all victims of the siren. As the siren is symbolic of female beauty and sexuality, she is chastising men's inability to overcome their lust.
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