Sullied Structure
Wheaton, IL
2016, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Birds fly, cresting the waves,
The sea spray, an ornament to their beauty.
Below, their shadows fly, cresting the sand.
The bird’s deep reflection is found in the rays.
Rays of sunlight pierce the deep,
Thin golden cords.
Cords of bodies, knit together, splashing silver.
They have come for school today.
Sleek bodies move through current.
Sand swirls as the dark shadow hunts the small whisper,
Sleek triangles come out from hiding, beautiful knives.
The silent hunter strikes.
Keep swimming silent shark.
Do not drown in the dark.
Keep spurting sullied structure.
Do not fail to manufacture.
Machines whir under the watchful eye.
The watchful eye that turns away from the dark.
The dark has few friends.
Do not fail to manufacture.
Graceful bodies dance with pomp and air.
‘Til they hear seductive whispers.
‘Til they hunt the splash of silver
‘Til their shadow engulfs another
Keep swimming silent shark
Do not drown in the dark.
Keep spurting sullied structure.
Do not fail to manufacture.
Billows of dark waste sink in dark water.
Graceful bodies dance with pomp and air,
‘Til weathered down by clouds of curies,
‘Til lulled to sleep by sullied structures.
Keep spurting sullied structure.
Do not fail to manufacture.
Reflection
Reflection
I wrote this poem to illustrate the effect of nuclear waste on the marine environment. My first stanza is meant to show the symmetry of the ocean. It is balanced and symmetrical. The second stanza follows cords of sunlight deeper into the water and observes a school of fish moving in sync. This continues the theme of balance and beauty found in the ocean. The third stanza then transitions to focus on one particular animal, the shark, who is the main focus of my poem. The poem meditates on the shark’s precision and its beauty in the hunt.
The two rhyming two-line stanzas are meant to be the chorus of the poem. The first speaks of the shark. The second speaks of a nuclear plant. It is a contrast to the natural predator and the unnatural predator. The sixth stanza describes more in depth the “sullied structure.” It emphasizes that just like the shark must keep swimming to stay alive because it has no swim bladder, the nuclear plant has to keep producing to keep humans satisfied. The next stanza shifts back to the shark, still gracefully hunting its prey. The chorus repeats.
The final four-line stanza talks about the effect of nuclear waste on the ocean environment. A curie is a unit of radioactivity; by using it in the poem, I establish an unspoken focus on nuclear waste. The final chorus only includes the “sullied structure,” showing the destruction of the unnatural predator.