The poem opens with the speaker explaining the "song" that makes men "leap overboard in squadrons." She tells us no one has ever heard the song, because those who have are, you know, dead. We're then invited to learn the secret in exchange for the opportunity to get her out of her "bird suit." The speaker tells us more about what it's like being a Siren, and she admits that she doesn't like looking "picturesque and mythical." In fact, she's kind of bored with the whole thing. She then tells us to "come closer" so we can learn the secret because we're special and unique. We can be the one to save her. By the end, though, we end up like the rest of them: duped and dead—all because of the Siren song.