Poisson Flet
Azusa, CA
2019, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Poisson flet.
Flaky flounder in the French style from Café de la Mer.
Just looking at my fish, I can see the glaze shine.
It’s Sun Bum! It smells like banana-coconut.
The chef comes and shows the bottle:
“Made in 2010. Aged to perfection.”
A fish of plastic bottles. A fish of heavy-duty garbage bags. A fish of bottle caps.
A fish of Styrofoam cups that fell off the docks.
As I dig deeper into my meal I come across my favorite surprise.
Delectable penicillin! Straight out of the sewers.
A fish of acetaminophen.
A fish of glipizide, esomeprazole. A fish of putrumiphil, hemitopenide.
A fish of expired amoxicillin, flushed last week.
The sauce! Notes of, hmm…
A fish of many places.
A fish of cornfield. A fish of Mexico.
A fish of rain.
In Iowa,
Ammonium nitrate is the pesticide
for a field of corn that the rain washed away.
It flowed freely with the water and made its way
past that party of medicines.
In Mexico,
The oil crosses the sea; the ship leaking gallons
into the water.
A fish of chemicals.
A fish of oil, medicines, and trash.
Looking out over the horizon, dining on my fish
I have to say, overall, I am very satisfied with my dish:
Poisson flet.
Reflection
Reflection
Saving the ocean’s fish is important for everyone. It should matter to everyone because one way or another, almost everyone is contaminating the fish we eat. People are polluting the ocean, and it will cost us. Trash is piling up fast. If we don’t stop soon, seafood will continue to carry the toxins from the water, and we will consume them. The longer we wait, the more toxins will accumulate in the sea life. There are people helping this by doing beach cleanups and spreading the word but still, not enough people are trying to prevent it. I chose to write about this topic because it is something urgent and we need to address. When I first sat down to begin the brainstorming, I realized how many things are polluting our oceans. It’s not only plastics but also medications and pesticides for crops. I learned about different ways that people could be polluting the ocean whether they know it or not. After writing this poem, these problems became huge to me. I realized how important this is, and we should all take steps to stop it. There are multiple easy ways you can help, such as not flushing medications down the toilet, buying organic foods because GM foods cause run-offs where the rain takes the chemicals to the ocean, and recycling so not as much trash ends up in the water.