All it Takes is One
Statesboro, GA
2020, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
the agents proclaimed her to be a natural—
every angle of her face was striking.
she could be feisty, bubbly, and demure.
in daylight,
she could catch the eyes of those streets away,
and she had a pristine pureness that others did not possess.
they could not wait
to make her
the next big thing.
***
grime coats her eyelashes, the nape of her neck, beneath her eyelids.
blemishes of nacreous oil swallow her once pearly skin.
she can no longer
blink without seeing the bottles and bottles
buried within the crevices of her brain,
breathe without feeling fishing nets asphyxiate her lungs,
or dream in the calming blue hues she’d known since birth.
the marine biologist diagnosed her with cancer,
an overgrowth of scar tissue,
dulcet body strained from overworking.
tests came back reporting of
arteries clogged with sulfur dioxide and lead,
tear ducts pooled with acid,
a lost cause if not given treatment soon—
but treatment was expensive and time-consuming.
the agents decided it best to recruit another ingenue.
the doctor drove away in his Maserati,
threw his take-out box over his shoulder,
took a sip through his red straw nestled in his ice-cold can of Coke
and wondered what the cause of such dreadful cancer could be.
she had lain there on the cobblestone,
a bleeding eyesore for all who lived near the coast
a lamentable pity for all who knew her in her prime
all wished to aid her
but none could afford the
elixir vital to her health
***
A passerby, long-time fan of hers,
strolled alongside the nighttime harbor.
she rubbed her eyes in disgusted disbelief
if this was Her
and if so,
why
was
nobody
helping
the shell of the star
who’s graced
God knows how many films, pictures, magazines—
with the strength and tranquility that Ocean gave her when she was young,
the rescuer stormed down the doors of her contractors,
begged for her
release from this abusive contract that has
stripped her idol of her coveted vitality and sparkling glamour,
that chewed her up,
spit her intestines into shattered coral,
deprived her of the care and attention,
and exploited her of all her talents and resources.
she demanded accountability.
she brought her home,
combed every strand of her disheveled hair
washed the fragile skin with soap.
and tangled in her rich beautiful hair,
she found shards of shells, and plastic
and plastic and plastic
and she wept bitterly
She promised to
nourish Ocean back to who she once was
who once radiated with unparalleled, unrefined beauty
whose white sand hair cascaded down her back in ringlets and waves
whose chin of pearl rested gingerly on her palm
whose azure eyes brimmed with a life
stemmed from a Mariana Trench soul
when fresh water coursed in her veins with soft undulation
and the saline of her tears blessed the shores it washed upon.
All it takes is one.
Reflection
Reflection
I wanted to portray the ocean as an actress and singer who had been exploited for her beauty and generous characteristics to highlight our string of abuses towards the ocean. We have delayed too long in delivering the treatment to the ocean for a disease that we have spread. What we have done is inexcusable and yet nobody is willing to step up to be the change. I wanted to arouse hope in saying that although the current state of things looks abysmal, we can still save the ocean through personal sacrifices of convenience. Every action we make will contribute to an overall global impact, and if every single person changes their style of life, there will be a domino effect that may save us all. I've learned to keep on reducing my carbon footprint and increasing the impact of my actions.