The Suffering Sea
The reach of the sea is deep and wide, a terrifying thing
of beauty that once was unmarred by human folly
she combs her wild foam-streaked hair unpinned
wave upon wave against the rebellious shore, and with
her frothy breath does battle with the treacherous wind.
In her chambered depths the songs of whales and dolphins
once was heard in far-off luminous coral kingdoms
where urchins, starfish, and other creatures hide in
undulating seagrass havens, who can no longer listen to
the love songs of the whales and dolphins who are no more.
Silent now, the ancient symphonic sea-born hymns
are no longer heard, and Mother Sea has come to rage
against the cruel, unnatural and indifferent shore
where human creatures slaughter her innocent progeny
the dolphins and the whales who are no more.
In helpless grief she looks upon the bloodstained sea
where once her dolphin children freely played
their joyous, spume-tossed life the hallmark of their lore
and she remembers, keening in her loss, the love songs
of her wayfaring dolphins and whales who are no more.