Taking in the Tides
London, United Kingdom
2021, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
I left
my plastic
cup behind today
cupped
my palms under
the fountain, caught
its phantom silver for a second
drank up
the miracle
of our shared soul
like the
school trip
to the seaside
where I became a selkie
escaped
in the caress
of cloaks of algae
that were my second skin
and when I left
my toes endured as
tiny imprints in the shore
before the tides reclaimed them
and maybe
I had been standing
on the bank of an hourglass as
the sands of time poured away
trying to
lose myself
inside the beauty
of the drowning sea
clutching
at the waves
to catch them
in my empty throat
to gorge myself on poison
choking
on the pain
of our ocean
and the gorgeous
futility of trying to save it
Taking in the Tides was also published in The London Magazine in July, 2021.
Reflection
Reflection
Poetry has always been one of the key ways I express myself and process my emotions, and I wrote this poem trying to explore my tangled feelings about the ocean. When I was younger, I loved the sea for the beauty and freedom it represented in my mind; now as I’ve gotten older and learned more about climate change, it also acts as a reminder of everything we might lose, and our own complicity in its destruction. All too often people appreciate the beauty of the environment while ignoring the urgent and imminent threat climate change poses to the natural world. Here, I wanted to criticise that detachment by highlighting the vulnerability of our planet and drawing attention to the myriad of tiny ways we can make a difference, such as by not using disposable plastic cups. Reducing plastic use and conserving water can add up to huge benefits for the environment. The ocean itself also inspired this poem; I used rhyme and enjambement to mirror the flowing nature of water, and the structure of the poem to reflect the repetition of waves crashing against the shore. We are all affected by rising tides. It’s easy to feel powerless against the huge force of climate change, but speaking out, marching, and spreading awareness about this threat is crucial. I have found inspiration and solidarity through writing to do my part in saving our seas, and I hope anyone who reads my poem will be motivated to do the same.