Ocean Blues
League City, TX
2015, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
My heartbeat quickens, as I walk closer and closer,
Closer to the place where I had loved to come.
Though I already suspect that it’s been befuddled and fouled,
I hold a hope that lasting damage has not been done.
I turn the corner, already knowing what has come to be,
The pollution, the plastics that are seen quite visibly.
My heart drops, but not with surprise,
As I look at the water submerged in unused supplies.
Plastics of all sorts and kinds,
Containers, bags, and fishing nets and lines.
Our oceans, our plastics,
We should keep in mind.
I ponder what to do,
Though my head isn’t straight,
How could I fix this much, when the ocean is in such a state?
Then abruptly, I hear a slight whimper,
Followed by a groan,
A helpless trapped seal,
Whose left flipper is cut and torn.
Without a thought, I rush to its assist,
My heart that was already broken,
Is knotted in a twist.
I do my best to take the plastic off his fin,
After nothing improves,
I hurriedly call in.
I explain the situation,
With dire need,
They agree to come,
To help the poor seal get freed.
They arrive minutes after, with equipment and a sort of cast,
They bandage the flipper to stop the blood loss,
And ensure that the each of the seals breath is not its last.
I stand there silently watching,
Watching how lives are changed by pollution,
With realization making a decision in my head.
I think to myself there is always a solution.
And there are things to be done and said.
After seeing the reality
I know now what I must do,
Protect ocean life
And
Preserve the ocean blue.
Reflection
Reflection
For my poetry piece, I wrote to inform others about the harmful effects of plastics in oceans, and how to aid those affected by pollution. I assumed the role as the main character in my poem, instead of speaking directly to the reader. This was done in order to make my character more personable. I drew my inspiration for this poem from personal experiences. I was born in Seabrook, Texas and grew up seeing oceans, lakes and ponds as my second home. I love to just watch the ocean, and hear the tranquility of the waves as they ebb and flow. Every time I visited Galveston beach in the past, the trash had been multiplied; every time, it would feel like a wound to my soul. This poem signifies how ¬deplorable pollution is, and how it affects the lives of everyone and everything living there. The seal symbolized the “latest victim” of pollution: innocent animals and humans that get hurt because of this irresponsibility every day. I love writing about current world problems, and I used my personal experiences to convey the stories of those grappling with pollution in the deep blue.