The Burning Sea
New York, NY
2019, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
As the crow flies, the sea is burning.
The sky alight, covered in burning gasoline.
As the fish swims, the sea is filled with blood.
The sky crimson, stained by corpses.
Deep unto the earth, dark stones are burned.
Machines of man burp and fart alongside the livestock they raise.
The blood in the sky burns brightly, leading a path for poisons to follow.
Some say the sky will burn until the stars fall.
Some say the oceans will cool the burning sky.
Some say, heroes will pull the flames from heaven itself.
If the flames leave the earth, sea, and sky, the world will wash away the cover of blood.
But the bedrock of the sea has since turned to ash, leaving death in its absence.
In that case, perhaps all we can do is cry.
Reflection
Reflection
This poem was meant to reflect the current plight faced by coral reefs across the globe. Due to global warming, the oceans are gradually heating up, degree by degree. Due to the fairly uniform temperature of oceans in the past, coral reefs have developed a weakness to temperature change. When encountered with increased temperature, coral reefs will expel their main energy-gathering cells which perform photosynthesis and allows coral to get a sufficient amount of energy. With those gone, coral begins to bleach, dying from starvation. This, in turn, means that the ecosystems they support entirely on their own will die almost completely. With the other effects of global warming influencing weather patterns and limiting new potential homes, the fish die-offs will be massive. The references to the sky refer to the source of the problem: trapped, immobile heat due to increased greenhouse gasses. The dark stones mentioned in the poem are coal, and the farts and burps of livestock refer to the actual number-one contributor to global warming: cow methane. Cows produce methane through farting and burping, and the special foods and fertilizers they consume increase their production of methane. In short, the poem is about the loss of life global climate change has and will cause. If it goes unchecked, it can even destroy human societies, and maybe erase humanity off the face of the earth. We can’t forget the destructive power we possess, and how we have lost control.