Manatee Poem by Jeffrey Yang

Manatee Carib manati
mammary, Olmec sanctuary,
Guiana girl's grief morphed
watercow (what terrors unleashed
on cows! to manifest mad
cow), gentlest of creatures, Columbo's
sirens, Colombia's most peaceful town.
Manatee, the world's happiest
vegetarian; skin's home to
algae and barnacles; mothers
nurse for twenty-four months; immune
system's inimitable; brain contains more
gray matter than humans', homo
sapiens their only natural predators
yet they welcome us with open limbs.
O Great Ancestors! Teach us
how to love our enemies.