The Harmony of the Sea
Claremont, CA
2018, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
In this world, harmony and chaos rule nature
Like two dissonant chords on a piano struck
But just as in a piano, when used the right way, these chords are deep, dark, and rich
In this world, harmony and chaos collide
The fish, the corals, the dreamy water
The chaotic spray, the wild winds, the mannic waves
The beauty of harmony is in this world
The dissonance of chaos is present here
The balance, so carefully articulated
In this world, harmony and chaos collide
When taken apart, these two worlds appear simple
When combined, they create something so beautiful
From the crystalline waters of the Caribbean to the sapphire shimmer of the Pacific
From the cold waves of the Arctic to the warmth of the Hawaiian shores
The Harmony of the Warmth, the Dissonance of the Cold
The beauty of the turquoise, the mystery of the depths
In this world, harmony and chaos collide
When two chords are struck, they must be carefully balanced
Too much of one, the other is overpowered
Too little of one, and the balance is shifted
This elegance and grace is sophisticated, but in it can be thrown off
Just remember that in this world, harmony and chaos collide
This harmony, this grace, this elegance, this balance, it’s disappearing as the world warms
The oceans are rising, the spray getting higher, the waves causing chaos
The glaciers melt, the oceans rising, destroying the white beaches
The bays, the coves, the lagoons all flooded
The dreams, the hopes, the wishes all broken
All replaced by the nightmare that is this twisted flooding
In this world, the balance is gone
Only destruction remains
What used to be a rainbow of coral is now bleached white as bone
The blood red is gone
The dark blue… disappeared
The emerald greens are forgotten
All that is left is the skeleton of a once lively world
In this world, the balance is gone
Only death remains
The mysterious allure is gone
Replaced by the storms
The hurricanes arise more frequently
The once dark and rich chords are replaced by dissonance
Overpowering the beauty of nature
In this world, the balance is gone
Only chaos remains
There is no cold
There is no warmth
There is no balance
The chords are gone
They are replaced by the random hammering of piano keys
The snapping of violins strings
Just like the snapping of the carefully arranged balance
There is no diversity in life anymore
The devastation reins supreme to all other things
Million will lose their homes to the flooding, to the storms, to the hurricanes
Millions of animals will perish in the changes of time
This world… will be destroyed
Extinct are the whales, the coral, the fish
Gone are the polar bears, the penguins, the seals
The birds, the lobsters, the turtles
Gone are the beaches
The lagoons
Gone is this harmony of life
There is harmony is melody and dissonance
A harmony in cold and warmth
A harmony in beauty and mystery
A beauty in all these different chords
The melody is the natural beauty present in the ocean
The harmony is the mysteriousness of the dark blue
The dissonance is the carefully composed combination of chaos and order
In this world, harmony and chaos collide
Be aware of all these things
While the world ocean is massive, it is also fragile
Carefully composed, smartly arranged by nature
Be smart in how you spend fuel, in what you burn, in how you contribute to this warming
The chords must be carefully balanced and struck
Lastly, remember this
In this world, harmony and chaos collide
This is The Harmony of The Sea
Reflection
Since I’ve played the violin since fourth grade, music theory is something that has been part of my life for almost a decade. Throughout it all, I’ve come to realize how chords can be stacked to form beautiful yet chaotic sounding music. Last year, I read “The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner,” a haunting poem that is blocked into two sections with distinct themes. At the same time, I played a piece titled “Call of the Sea” for the orchestra. These two gave me the idea to create a haunting and abstract poem about the ocean that would be blocked into two sections. The first section shows the careful balance of nature, using music theory to describe that said balance. The second section takes a turn by showing us the repercussions of global warming on the ocean. By having two blocked sections, the reader can read about the beauty of the ocean, only to see that harmony destroyed by global warming. While global warming is long-term, the two blocks give a sense of urgency to the reader. Numerous adjectives are used to give the reader a better impression of what the ocean is about. While the ocean might appear massive, it is a carefully balanced system, similar to the careful arrangement of chords. This metaphor ultimately paints a better picture about global warming. By making it abstract yet clear, it gains a detached yet personal tone to it, invoking both hope and worry in the reader.