Dry tears 2
We will see now, on second reading, that the carcass is not so repugnant. By the way, the carcass does not have to be the main image for us: the word "carcass" remains strong but this chapter, in fact, is not entitled "The Carcass".
First of all, note the word "shimmers" before the flies. It's better to take up the whole strophe:
Like the two different meanings of the word "tears", the word "shimmers" can be both a noun and a verb. If it was the verb, it would refer to the carcass, which would shimmer due to the flies: one can already imagine, metaphorically, a worn-out man like Syd whose personality shimmers only because of curious people hanging around him like flies. But again it's a "first sight" interpretation, just to try to bring one's compassion to tears. Did Syd think of himself as becoming another carcass among the drowned men of Last Island? By the way, Syd cut the line "I'm drowning" from a previous version.