With Action, A New Tomorrow
Naperville, IL
2017, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
The oceans are cresting over like weak knuckles
Against flesh. It’s April, and I am learning
That this is how the water begins to chaff and digest
Like a form of cartilage in the essence of what it
Means to deform. I remember that day: the sewage
Spewing over the waves more like animal fat
Than trash, me seeing the oil wallow as both a
Vulgar heartbeat and a floodlight. With man’s
Touch, the oceans became a pulsing fire. Yet nothing
Burned brighter than the dead fishes I cannot
Unsee, bodies bloated beyond hope or apologies,
Their forms forever silenced and unforgiving.
Every day I walk along the shore, dig my hands
Into the beach. I collect the bottles, the plastic,
And the forgotten: a limp harvest of contamination. I
Make monuments out of sand and gather trash
With compassion and resiliency. I cannot allow myself
To unsee, to fall into inaction. This is not
Just my story, but the story of the Earth and its people,
Of sewage, oil, and dead fish, the truest
Story of ocean pollution as both a confession of mistakes
And a promise towards justice and new
Beginnings, each action, a small current that will make
More than an ocean of change.
Reflection
Reflection
My poem explores the idea that ocean degradation might be overwhelmingly extensive, but it is still not beyond personal action. While it is a burden, having the power to give voice to the impacts of pollution is the closest step in the direction towards just action. In my piece, I explore a combination of both imagery and reflection to elucidate how the speaker tries to come to terms with the tragedy of ocean pollution. Transitioning from themes of despair and disgust, my piece ends with a note of hope and responsibility with a goal to spur action within the readers to directly address pollution in their own individual way. Although this poem is very personal to me, its relatable voice makes the story a universal appeal to ocean justice.