The Mermaloids’ Lament
Juan Manuel Pérez
April 28, 2021
from oceans we came
when dry land was yet to be
when legs were fable
then we crawled on out
evolving from fins to limbs
taking steps away
before history
before the reed met the clay
when thoughts said it all
then to quill and ink
to write salty tales of old
of time out of place
forgot our purpose
we, descendants from the drink
all near washed away
now to screens and text
far from the call of the deep
far from once we were
war, we learned it well
cutting limbs away for peace
crawling back to sea
Juan Manuel Pérez, a Mexican-American poet of indigenous descent and the 2019-2020 Poet Laureate for Corpus Christi, Texas, is the author of several books of poetry, including two new books, SPACE IN PIECES (2020) and SCREW THE WALL! AND OTHER BROWN PEOPLE POEMS (2020).
