Footprints

Seraphine Sun
Palos Verdes Estates, CA
2016, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word

	Footprints on the golden sand, Turn into undulating mounts of gilded waves Under the shimmering sun. They are the proud manifestos Of our existence, Of our eminence, Of our governance. How we admire the footprints we leave behind.
As we stand in our footprints, Listening to the marching anthems of the ocean waves; Watching how they bow, scrape and retreat, We imagine their perpetual genuflection, To be a testament of their absolute obeisance, Made on behalf of the centillions of marine microbes, Paying homage to their heroes, Worshiping us, the Rulers of the Globe.
	Listen once again, listen attentively; The anthems we hear are not hails, But the pteropods’ weeps and the dolphins’ wails. How could we have mistaken their harrowing mourns to be patriotic chorales? Watch once again, watch closely; The full prostrations of the ocean waves, Are not tributes but desperate flails. How could we not have seen evidence of their suffocated symptoms?
From genes to ecosystems, From the smallest planktons, To the greatest whales, The species are at risk; The ocean is in distress. Our planet’s biome, Is being smothered By the acids in the ocean.
	Whereas, The temperature is warming; Glaciers are melting; Sea levels are rising; Ocean circulation is altering; Zooxanthellae are dying; Corals are bleaching; Kelps are vanishing; Crustaceans are eroding.
These are irrefutable facts, not fiction. Mighty Rulers of the Planet, Look toward ourselves, Here is how it started. Emissions, eutrophication; Deforestation, over-fishing. Pollutions, consumption; The Great Barrier is perishing.
	RESOLVED, None UNRESOLVED, By not using sustainable energy; By wasting paper and water; By not recycling and reusing; By making wrong choices of products; The footprints I leave on the golden sand; Are not proud manifestos, but shameful reminders, Of the invisible, silent, lethal, eternal Carbon footprints I helped create.

Reflection

My interest in the ocean started when I was four, after watching The Little Mermaid, Finding Nemo and Happy Feet, with the latter two being quite influential because they raised many questions in my young, innocent mind about the impact of human activities on marine animals. Throughout the years, a recurring hymn from the theme song of Pocahontas: Colors of the Wind constantly rings in my ears, which contains the following powerful, inspiring message:

“You think you own whatever land you land on
The Earth is just a dead thing you can claim
…
And we are all connected to each other
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends”

Recently, a documentary showing a series of satellite photos of the acidified and diminishing Great Barrier Reef sealed my fate in the quest for oceanic justice. All the animated movies and theme songs that I am so familiar with suddenly all make sense. I became a regular volunteer at Heal the Bay, and this summer, I am excited to begin an internship in the Aquatic Nursery Program at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California.

This poem begins with my heartfelt sentimentalities about human arrogance and ignorance, which transitions into a legal resolution with a recitation of factual consequences resulting from anthropogenic carbon, and ends with a scrutiny of my own actions for leaving my ecological footprints, which resolution remains a work in progress.

Footprints

Reflection

Reflection

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Footprints