In 1842, there was
a travesty called 'The Fiji Mermaid,'
composed from the torso
of a dried monkey corpse fastened
to the tail end of a fish--
Megaphoned mouths
of carnival barkers touted
the splendor of the
so-called 'genuine' mermaid
and seduced willing suckers
'born every minute,'
to dish out oceans of hard-earned money
just so they could gawk at the mocking
man-made monstrosity.

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