A Fisherman Addresses Some Sea God
Orlando, FL
2021, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Brother, I hold this water in my lungs
as closely as I hold these lungs to my heart.
Tell me which growth of kelp binds me
to this deep country, this land of ripped-open
rivers and darkened moons. The curvature
of a water-birth demands sacrifice. Let me
split open my veins and take in the salt-water
to carry this burden to the soft-tongued nation.
Sea-graves mark sand-funerals. I have given it my all,
pulled scales and fins out of murky depths until
the waves returned bones. Tell me, how breakable tradition
is. How easily a sand castle crumbles under
the weight of a rising sea. The color of this land is gone. The
color of my hands has faded under this sun.
Let me travel the miles of your body to make a
new home out of a desert of a reef. In the time of
need, there have been no blessings. The caress
of the fish has left our village. In this I find
hope: for better ground, for better waters. I
find them with my hand deep in your throat
pulling new life out of a mythical deepness.
I will make a heart out of this water in my lungs.
Reflection
Reflection
My family's history has always been intertwined with water: my parents lived in a small fishing village next to the South China Sea, they grew up swimming in rivers and helping their parents on fishing boats. Our family depended on the local fish to both eat and sell. When they came over to America, they immigrated by water. Now, they express this connection to the ocean through their traditions. In this poem, I try to connect the importance of water and the impact of changes in the oceans to the lives of those who depend on it; specifically, with the story of how because of rising oceans, many can no longer lead a sustainable life on the same lands their ancestors had lived on. This drew me to a larger problem in my research: climate refugees. Across the world, because of the actions of a few privileged countries, migrants will have to leave their homes and traditions to escape massive sea-level changes. With my poem, I hope that I can bring attention to the impact of climate change on people across the world and emphasize the loss of lives, culture, and traditions that result from climate migration.