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.

many believed the hoax
because conniving predators could lie
using the straight face
of shark-persuasion,

but supposedly we have evolved since then,
now we follow dosed network news shows,
and give rapt attention to talk-radio hosts
not to mention, the trustworthy internet--
where everyday carny barkers lie to us,
showing us their freaks for ratings.
so we'll order their snake-oil
or buy their leaky book

folly is confirmed
by her children,
            is it not?

© Brian Hodgkinson Jr. (aka) –Limericist 2007/2021