the sea will rise again
Los Altos Hills, CA
2020, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
a green world
a perfect world.
species living in harmony,
existing. side by side, together.
too bad that was just a dream.
hours spent looking out the window. thinking.
how is it, that i
have come to rely
on the artificial scenery my imagination has created
to give myself the fleeting moments,
of hope, peace, and serenity
which should be considered a necessity
as opposed to what our world has become, an endless cycle of greed.
how do i cope when i feel so strong, so able,
at the next moment, so weak.
i think to myself, the sea will rise again. the sea will rise again.
it must.
but, i’m too afraid to speak up.
too scared to make a difference.
to do the right thing.
i am just one, in the ocean of people, of thoughts, of dreams.
the waves, spilling over each other,
trying to make a difference, trying to rise.
but i can’t.
i’m too small, too scared, too unworthy.
the sea has started to flow its currents against me, a sea of oil and gasoline, and dreams trapped
in plastic that takes away numerous lives.
i have labelled myself
the smallest fish in the midst of a great sea, waiting to be eaten.
to be crushed, by the growing terrors of our world. the plastic flung into the sea.
ice melting.
entire rainforests being burned.
our perfect blue planet being driven to extinction.
but no. even the smallest fish in the sea can do something to help. if all the small fish
can stand strong and unite against the heartless
whom have come to intrude our small haven, the sea.
we can make a difference.
the sea will rise again.
Reflection
Reflection
I think it's extremely important that everybody, young or old, puts aside their differences to save our planet. Every human being out there lives and relies on the ocean. As I was writing this piece of poetry, I felt helpless. It seemed like when I tried to organize something, a wave was washing me over, telling me that I wasn't qualified enough, or good enough; I wasn't the right person to do it. However, as I was thinking more, I realized that there isn't "one right person" to do a job that needs to get done. Saving the ocean and battling climate change is an extremely large job that needs to get done as soon as possible. All this time I was thinking that a 13-year-old girl couldn't possibly do anything, that the big stuff could only be done by the government and big companies. I realized that if everybody relied on the "big fish" out there to do the things that get done, and the "big fish" never believed in the important matters happening in our world, then "small fish" like me would have to do. Yes, it would be harder, but in times of crisis, everybody counts. The message I hope to send to readers is that anybody can make a difference, no matter who they are or where they're from. I hope to inspire people to save our home, our ocean.