The Song of the Sea
Irvine, CA
2021, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
In the songs of the symphonious waves
They sing of a tale from not long ago,
The journey of a prideful man
And his companion.
This man walked these beaches,
But unlike now, he walked spotless sands that radiated warmth.
At the world he cursed for his lack of company,
Claiming he fought upstream each and every day.
He believed he no longer needed a friend, if he made it all this way on his own, surely he didn’t.
Right?
His anger consumed him,
His pride encouraged him,
But a small turtle welcomed him.
And for one moment, if only, he felt that his endless curses had been silenced.
A companion on his walks,
He used to watch the rise of the sun alone,
But now stood by his side, barely off the ground but nonetheless standing,
The Turtle.
Slowly, his once untrusting heart was able to follow the downstream into the unknown.
But as days passed, the beaches were no longer glowing gold.
Their sands paled and littered.
Slowly the Turtle deteriorated until he was simply gone.
Remembered by none but the man,
Surely it wasn’t that big of a deal?
But in the man’s eyes, once more the cruelty of humankind prevailed.
And that is the journey water takes.
Ever flowing and ever changing, bringing together the most unlikely.
Guiding those who choose to follow it downstream, an adventure to reminisce in.
The course of all is strung together by the silken and flowing fabric of water.
Finely weaved and glistening,
It is time that the ocean’s call of need is listened to and acknowledged.
Because, just as the Turtle remained by his side through hurricane and storm,
Water remains by ours through the crashing waves and calming ripples.
Reflection
In class we've been discussing renewable energy as well as why we must progress as a society in order to prevent even more pollution. I found it fascinating how people have been stepping up and creating new recyclable products. People have been trying to play their part and even those with no booming public platform are able to assist in spreading awareness. Part of my development process was incorporating aspects of art that I've always enjoyed—music and poetry are intertwined for me, and I felt the need to put that into my writing. I wanted my poem to flow like water down a stream in a way.My message that I want to portray through my poem is that we won't realize how urgent it is to preserve our ocean ecosystems until it is too late.