The Mermaid of Black Conch

Written by Judy Cox for The Socialist Review on Tuesday, February 16th, 2021

Aycayia stands for all the creatures which have been caught, stolen, abused and destroyed for profit. In this image of the mermaid, Roffey is continuing an idea expressed in a poem by Pablo Neruda. His mermaid is a metaphor for a natural world which is being destroyed by human greed and arrogance.

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So, mermaids do change lives. Life in Black Conch is enriched for those who see beneath physical difference to a shared humanity. David writes in his journal, “That mermaid be a revolutionary.” And in a gentle, magical and lyrical way, she is.