Two Worlds
Acton, MA
2021, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
A dull palette of bleached chrome
Seeps through my peripheral vision,
a gray version of once-thriving reefs.
Dying coral floats up to the sunshine shores.
I see no life around these watery depths. Only Death surrounds me.
Moving down into the navy blue sea,
a suffocating presence has settled on my chest.
Darkness and fear folds over me
Then there is golden light
Surging into the warm sunlit water
Relief washes over me like waves hitting sandy beaches
And this time,
it’s different.
This sea world, no longer a monochrome ciné newsreel
This pristine blue world, a plethora, a twenty-first-century pixel of a lustrous luminosity—
Colors of all shades and hues reassure my eyes.
The seaweed sways around me, dancing to a forgotten tune.
I hum along to the ocean’s harmony.
I swim through gorgeous coral reefs
Lipstick pink to a soft bridal tint,
Acropora clathrata, subtle salmon shades
Swirling up, I reach for gliding turtles near dark evening blue elkhorn
Contrasts against cobalt staghorn
Little tiny Dorys dart around twisting emerald kelp forests.
Colorful biomes of fluorescence clash against blue pastel waters
Dozens of Nemo clownfish flutter around me.
I pedal my flippers up to the surface away from the sandy stingrays.
Suffocation.
I clutch my throat gasping for air
Useless air tanks lugging behind me,
I claw at the water, frantically attempting to break its surface
Rays of the once beautiful sun disappear.
A haze of nightmare surrounds me
Voices whispering to me
You’re too late… Your time is up for both humanity and the ocean
My eyes flutter close. Blackness envelops me like a tar blanket,
We’re too late… Or are we?
Reflection
In my poem, my first water story describes a world of pollution and destruction as the ocean is being destroyed by human activity. In school, I have been learning about the disastrous effect these gases have on our environment. Climate change has drastically affected the ocean, creating warmer waters, which means rising sea levels, hurricanes, and tsunamis. Marine animals are dying due to the disappearance of the coral reefs, upsetting the food chain and causing the extinction of countless marine species. Yet, our oceans aren’t supposed to be like this, as “this time, it’s different.” My second water story showcases the memory of the beauty and clarity of our seas. I include popular Disney movie characters, such as Dory and Nemo. However, Disney movies may give off a false sense of authenticity, with their glibly painted picture-perfect world of bright colors and few pressing environmental problems. I show that we should not take perfection for granted. Our oceans will not stay clean and Disney-pure unless we take action before it is too late. I return to my first world of destruction in my final stanza. The speaker is a diver who is dying through lack of oxygen, both on a literal and figurative level, and she represents all of us. I find it completely unacceptable that our blue planet is being slowly destroyed by the very beings who live on it. As early as 1980, scientists predicted the dangerous rise of carbon emissions, yet we have never really bothered to fully address the problem. Raising awareness of how to save our seas is crucial. My generation has the tools to save our oceans. We are not too late. “Or are we?”