Next I was roar, claw, 50lb paw,
jungle-floored, meateater, raw,
a zebra's gore
in my lower jaw.
But my gold eye saw
the guy in the grass with the gun. Twelve-bore.
I sank through the floor of the earth
to swim in the sea.
Mermaid, me, big fish, eel, dolphin,
whale, the ocean's opera singer.
Over the waves the fisherman came
with his hook and his line and his sinker.
I changed my tune
to racoon, skunk, stoat,
to weasel, ferret, bat, mink, rat.
The taxidermist sharpened his knives.
The first line of the sixth stanza signals an abrupt change of mood; far less threatening than previously. It is notable that Thetis was a Siren who sang in the previous stanza. Here she is silent. Thetis transforms herself into small furry creatures, some vermin, some with humorous or unpleasant associations.
Thetis