Art by Monica Medappa

Sailing through once pristine waters,

now as black as tar.

Toxins, the new Tzar

Cadmium spheres and metals molten.

Air so static,

silence of nature, vitriolic.

Beer cans and cigarette stubs,

poystyrene and gasoline,

plastic and condom,

Man-made vermin, earth’s new emblem.

Scores of opah and barracuda,

floating dead from hypoxia.

Some gasping,

fervently searching.

Sweet Air.. just one last gulp,

before death beats life to pulp.

Halt!!

 The ocean is respiring!

Forcing. Exploding through this chemical vessel,

Comes iridescent hoods and tentacles!

Beating all odds and obstacles!

The sheer magnetism sends an outcry!

Cnidarian eclipse!

That was the night they took to the sky.

Leaving behind this toxic nuclei.