I didn’t know what a thermophile was, but after looking it up I see that it is a bacteria that thrives in high temperatures. I wonder if Burt included this to show how the Ocean is a harsh place, yet a place of origin. The fumaroles that the thermophiles feed on are arguably some of the earliest catalysts for human life. Burt then references more Ocean dwellers like zoarchids, known for being sluggish and consumptive. To me, Burt is highlighting the fertility of the Ocean. They want readers to know that the Ocean is the birthplace of humanity. The first stanza also hints at the origin of life on Earth, calling the Ocean “life-giving.”

Later in the poem, Burt references the liminal spaces of the “harbor” and the “estuary.” Why did they surface liminal spaces? The estuary, between fresh and salty waterways. the harbor, a place between the human world on land and the Ocean.

I wonder if this poem serves as a reminder that if mermaids exist, then we evolved from them. Burt repeatedly hints that the Ocean is the origin of all living things, and the title of the poem “We Are Mermaids” furthers this idea. Maybe this is a calling for us to acknowledge all that has come before us, all the species that lead to humanity.

What does Burt mean when they say, “Some of us are going to be okay.”