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Denver, CO
2020, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
ninety percent and ten percent—known and unknown species. they are the fauna; they were
blessed. ordained to find solace in a boundless realm of water and salt and splendor. their home.
they are the chosen. casualties, victims, sacrifices. the name doesn’t matter. never has. their fear,
their pain; those matter. subject to the toxins perverting the sky, they aren’t blessed anymore.
misery has long since been a stranger. it has countless faces. they’re all satisfied. cruel.
a tight-lipped smile conceals razor-sharp teeth when the corals scream. pleasant warmth
transforms into a burning fever. vibrant skin dries to bone. there is no silence.
a malicious gaze flashes as the arctic tears apart at the seams. glacial majesties collapse. drip to
nothingness. too much prevails in their wake. vagrancy. suffering. the dependent are doomed.
eyebrows lift comfortably at the sound of rasping. marine creatures suffocate in their own
livelihood. they writhe, weeping acid. the acid in the water keeping them alive.
there are too many more reasons for misery to feel joy—a beacon stained scarlet. concede and
rise together. as one.
the wounded are falling. (fully bare). don the armor they cannot wear.
the wounded are enveloped. (in weakness). employ the strength they do not have.
the wounded are losing. (their home). save the sea.
Works Cited
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-species.html
Reflection
Reflection
Upon doing research for my poem, I became astounded by the sheer number of distinct manners in which the climate crisis has impacted the ocean and the wildlife inhabiting it. Sure, most people understand things like how the climate crisis is causing global sea levels to rise, but there are so many other disastrous effects that have yet to be acknowledged as much as they ought to be. It's for that reason I elected to illustrate several of those effects in my poem (coral bleaching, glacial melting, and ocean acidification). Of course, I also made sure to add that there were many other harmful ways in which the climate crisis was influencing the sea. I figured that simply pointing out the problems the climate crisis was causing for the sea wasn't the best I could do for my poem, which is why I incorporated a call to action in the final lines of my poem. Hopefully, more people decide to work towards battling the climate crisis and saving the ocean; I know I will.