just deserts
By Di_Hard
- 7546 reads
I wander beside the desert
unfurling like a sea
of chrysanthemum petals
wondering, Do fish swim
under those diminishing curves?
For sure, there are no crabs
to sideways scrabble scrawl
like war correspondents reporting
a retreating tide
no yellow winkles, whelks or dapper hermit crabs
to make their groove in a wave lapping LP
no flap and squabble of bright white herring gulls
to pull life up, for there is none
here, no lugworms or cockles hiding deep -
but, there
is colour! A flash of purple
snackbar wrapper, rich blue plastic string
could have a future strangling
seals. Polysterene fast food boxes
bob as well as any gull and
sanitary towels could fill
the hungry belly of a basking shark.
The beach just along this coast
someone snapped a photo
which got many smiley faces, likes
and jokes, looking like dead men's willies
they were actually sea anemones
once sucked wine-gum ruby, now bleached
from pollution and increasing heat.
We are making a meal
of tackling the effects of progress
and this is our just dessert
here are some links if you are interested :
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/news/plastic-recycling-export-incineration/
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/Ocean_Factsheet_...
https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/plastics_v08.pdf
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264585-microplastics-found-across-...
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Comments
Wonderful poem. So depressing
Wonderful poem. So depressing that this has happened in such a short space of time. Many companies, governments simply making noises about tackling climate change and yet the amount of plastic in the industry I work in is frankly mind boggling and it all goes in the bin. I really like 'like war correspondents , reporting a retreating tide' and so many more gems here.
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like Jane says - wonderfully
like Jane says - wonderfully done - including the clever word plays - so sad that the joy your son had is denied to the little children now - very important that we keep focussed and talking about it - well done Di
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So sad, so true. I enjoyed
So sad, so true. I enjoyed your play on words here as well, and the images were so immersive! It really helped draw me in to this very real issue, to recognize not only your stand on it but the beauty in what was lost to plastic and the like. I'm absolutely heartbroken, this is a call for change. Well done.
Jess
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You have every right to go
You have every right to go into rant mode with this poem Di, you're showing you care and that's a step in the right direction. I don't live anywhere near a beach and haven't seen the ocean for many years, but your poem really makes you think about how we have a long way to go in saving wildlife and that change is definitely needed.
Well done for bringing this plight to attention, let's hope someone reads it that can do something about the beaches.
Jenny.
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I wonder if out-of-proportion
I wonder if out-of-proportion preoccupation with hygiene and sterilization has had the effect of over-using plastic and chemicals. Things that can be beneficial in the problems of this world now, are so easily over-used ;and abused and become the problems themselves. Rhiannon
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… and I hear that again there
… and I hear that again there's some outlawing the drying of washing outside, for neatness sake!!
I was also thinking of growing up with the assumption of so much food covered in plastic for hygiene and preservation, and also wrapping all rubbiish, to keep one's hands clean! Rh
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There's no two ways about it,
There's no two ways about it, what's happening with seas and oceans with rubbish and pollution is a global emergency. Sadly, I think the proliference of face masks is going to set everything back after some good work done in recent years. An invaluable message so well delivered, Di.
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This is constructed with
This is constructed with consummate skill; there is such wonderful word play and thoughfulness into each line. Thank you for highlighting this problem. In the village and those around we're letting the verges grow wild, clearing old ponds to revitalise them and creating "bee corridors" so that these wonderful creatures can continue to their essential work.
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If all could see as you do -
If all could see as you do - feel as you do- perhaps there would be change- but for those too wrapped in their ways -too blind to the pitfalls of their continued quick comforts -there is no hope for change soon. The plastic blight is everywhere and in our throw away world, there's been no place to put it all -so now they’ve even put it in our clothes- will this maddness end with educated, environmental changes? I suppose we can still hope so– I applaud your poem, it is heartbreaking and important, you take the reader along as you view the current state of a once blossoming sea world and we all feel bereft for what is lost.
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Your understanding of Nature
Your understanding of Nature shows realism in this great poem. Well done.
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This is our Poem of the Month
This is our Poem of the Month - Congratulations!
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This is our Facebook and
This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day!
Please share/retweet so it gets as big an audience as possible
Picture Credit:https://tinyurl.com/kb3tp8ve
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Well deserved honors, DH. You
Well deserved honors, DH. You're brilliant with word play here. That it has something to say makes it extrea special. Kudos to you, my friend. Cheers.
Rich
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Powerful Poem
Hi Di,
Loved how you move between ocean, shoreline and the global politics beyond. Especially like the war correspondent line, the description of dead mens' willies and the sanitary towel and basking shark.
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