requiem of regalia
Papillion, NE
2020, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
you can scour the history books
you may pour over the maps
but you will be left simple
for you do not know history.
you are stained with ink
spun into a renaissance
for the narrative of men
as they pretend to be eternity.
close your eyes.
listen to the salty breeze
as she plays a plodding humdrum
with no chords to spin it
into a harmony.
listen to the tides
pushing an infinite ostinato
without the choir of wayfarers
to pick up the melody.
and listen to the bell
tolling in a threnody
for the burning and the starved
conjoining into tragedy.
wipe clean the ink
and listen to the ghosts
of eternity’s mightiest empire
but do not weep.
weave their voices into a lullaby
sing it for their children
and there will be
no requiem.
Works Cited
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ocean-dead-zones/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/music/music-basics2/notes-rhythm/a/glossary-of-musical-terms
Reflection
Reflection
Awhile ago, I learned about ocean dead zones. I saw these places that had been bustling communities now devoid of life, and it horrified me. Writing this, I thought of them as empires—one of the ones that have been around to see the earth from the start. I thought of the ocean animals dying in massive numbers and no one being there to see them perish, bringing it from my heart to my keyboard. We have books, maps, pictures, and more to tell us of every deadly epidemic in human history, yet the biggest massacre of life is happening right under our noses and no one really sees it. By comparing the mourning of an empty ocean to music, I tried to channel how music transcends all language and facts and gets down to the core of our composition. I encouraged readers to try and see the ocean as another vital part of the world, not by human standards, but by the standards of life itself. I want readers to truly understand the horrors and use that information to speak up and bring change to save what's left. But while researching, I saw The Ocean Cleanup, 4Ocean, Pristine Seas, and other conservation efforts. Seeing people doing this truly gives me hope that there's hope for our oceans, and moving forward, I will use my talents and skills to add to the fight and continue to inform people about our amazing oceans.