Images of the Past
Englewood, NJ
2016, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
As she walks amidst the misty breeze,
The ocean wind gently embraces her,
As if to whisper tenderly, “I am fine.”
But the sand beneath claims otherwise,
Plastic pebbles digging against flesh,
Poking at her conscience,
“Look what you have done to me.”
The waves of the ocean massage her feet,
Flickering its once emerald waves
Vulnerably but tenderly, “I am fine.”
But she knows that is not the truth
From the tainted pale of umber,
Mocking her for all she has done,
“Look what you have done to me.”
Vivid images pass through her mind:
Images of the once emerald hue of the ocean,
Images of the purity,
Images of the creatures that once thrived,
Images of those she has destroyed
For her own greed and her own need,
Images never to be seen again.
The tenderness of the ocean now gone,
Replaced with sorrow and resent,
“Why must you have done this to me?”
Unable to speak or answer at all,
She collapses onto the shore and stares,
Stares into the distance,
Reflecting on her fellow men
Carelessly throwing waste into the ocean
Even at this very hour.
Dropping bottles,
Dropping cans,
Dropping plastic bags,
Dropping unwanted waste into the vast ocean.
One by one, the stillicide collects
Into a cycle of ruin and regrets.
She continues to stay by the shore,
The tears of her guilt providing to the ocean.
Every day, presenting the question
“Is it too late to stop?”
All— her fellow men and the ocean—are silent.
Reflection
Most humans realize the weight of their actions only after they are affected by them. Usually, when regretting, humans try to force out and recall past memories. This poem, “Images of the Past,” emphasizes such human nature. In the poem, a girl, whose identity remains unidentified throughout the poem, sits and walks by the ocean shore, regretting her past actions that littered and damaged the ocean. She is a representative of all people who have realized the depth of their polluting actions. The poem personifies the ocean, symbolically including conversations between the ocean and the girl.
I chose to write a free-verse poem to convey to the reader the effect humans have on the ocean, and the world as a whole, in a simple and efficient way. The piece also allowed me to reflect on my actions by thinking from the perspective of the ocean. Through this poem, I wish that the reader will be able to do same and reconsider his own actions.