Because of Us
Pembroke Pines, FL
2021, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Take a look at our ocean
What do you see?
Look beyond all of the commotion
Beyond the refreshing smell
The wind swirling through our hair
A society appears
Hurt, murdered, distraught
Traumatized, because of us
Now, let’s look back at us
What do you see now?
Some may call it a “fuss”
But look at our society
The actions we make that hurt our communities
The prejudice, disparities, inequities
We are the same,
Both hurt by us
In this mirror, lives are lost
The plastic that wraps around their necks causing deaths,
Mirrors the hands and words that take away our own last breaths
The ocean is starting to mirror the dark side of our society
Our contaminated water becomes their contaminated homes
Our contaminated water becomes devoured by some of our own
land-dwelling, sea-dwelling, human, mammal, fish, amphibian
We are all in danger because of us
The animals in the ocean are reflecting our lives
Silenced, beat, tormented, being slaughtered
Millions go without water
Millions go without homes or habitats
We must end this cycle of death
This cycle will end us
We have a chance to make this fair
Water is needed by everyone
Indigenous, white, black, asian
We need to care, become aware
See the diversity we can achieve
This mirror is becoming clearer
We cannot keep on choosing who lives, who dies
Once we realize this,
Nothing can stop us
Reflection
Reflection
For several decades, there has been a menacing, visible threat to our oceans and sea-dwelling species. Various diverse, colorful, and breath-taking ecosystems are starting to diminish and become endangered. Our world is changing, yet so many turn a blind eye and don’t acknowledge what is going on. It is similar to how many people ignore the many racial disparities that we have in our society. After watching a documentary by David Attenborough, I realized all the similarities between our ocean and society. Many of the conditions suffered by people of different races mirrored what the animals in our oceans are enduring. While I was watching the documentary, I learned about hundreds of endangered species that are being hurt by us. These astonishing statistics also led to my involvement in water advocacy. They created emotions of sympathy but also hatred as continue to let this happen. However, towards the end of my research, I also felt optimistic as we still have a chance to save our planet. I made sure to include this at the end of my poem to give the reader hope and incentive to save our oceans. We can still turn this around, but we need everyone to aid in the fight against global warming, which also includes me. As a result of entering this contest, I have become educated on the threats that face our wildlife and oceans every day. Moving forward, I will ensure the safety of our oceans by actively advocating for change, educating others, and drastically reducing the amount of waste I produce. Together, we can change our planet for the better.