National Poetry Month: An Ocean Like the Sky

April 18, 2017

“An Ocean Like the Sky”

by Christina Qin, Grade 8, California

Look.

I can’t see anything.

Closer.
Am I blind?
It is like the night sky, no?

That foul gloomy goop?

The ocean–
Stained black like the night.
It used to be like the day,
But we changed it evil.
We changed it to a poison.

Why?

It bled.
We broke its skin and sucked it dry
For trucks, for cars, for planes.
To burn it up into thick black smoke
Polluting the earth, the seas, and the skies.
We chose fire over water.
We chose comfort over lives.

What’s that sound?

It’s the sound of death.
Wet splashing
As tangled wings drag downward
And drown its unfortunate owners.
Rattling yelps for help
As noses and mouths flood with poison.
But don’t worry;
Soon it will be silent.
Soon we will forget
What it was like before
The ocean bled black and death ruled the seas.

 

Reflection

I love to write and I also love animals, so I thought that this contest is a great way for me to express both of my interests.  I’ve always loved poetry and how beautiful it is in the fact that it can communicate a powerful message effectively. It’s like magic; by using simple well-ordered words, a poem can make a person feel a wide array of emotions. I wanted to create one of this myself as well and thus my poem was created. I hope my poem can allow people to understand the pollution that humans cause that hurts the environment and animals. By understanding the problem, we can stop contributing towards it.