The Devil in The Deep Blue Sea

The water lapped gently at the gold shoreline

    sparkling as the sun lit it’s surface,

       the sand was washed, it was soft and fine,

          as they stood in Summer’s warm embrace.

The seabirds swirled in the breeze above their heads,

    silhouetted against the azure blue of the sky,

      the waves spread seaweed out like threads

          washing strands ashore, where it was left to dry.

It was an idyllic scene and a perfect day

    as they stood together, hand in hand

        in the warm air, just beyond the sea spray

           with their bare feet in the soft yellow sand.

But here lurked an invader that lived in the sea

    that was challenging nature with its size,

        it lured in creatures, that sheltered secretly

           out of the sight of large predator’s eyes.

Mussels, anemones, clams and seaweed

    gathered in the depths by this enemy,

        innocently together, as they came to feed,

            on this ominous foe with its coat of debris.

This adversary though, did not itself decide,

    to violate the ocean and take control,

       as it lethally spread itself in the tide,

          it had no motive or clandestine goal.

Trapped in a vortex, in the ocean’s waves

    swaths of plastic spun, where the winds converge

       circling and menacing, the blameless it enslaves

           with its evil grasp, to then submerge

into the depths like pepper in a stew

     in the water column, it hung suspended,

         increasing in size, this monster grew,

              its lethal reach becoming extended,

as another refuge truck of plastic is dumped.

    And every minute of every single day,

        into the sea it’s thoughtlessly pumped

             and soon it will outweigh

the fish population in a matter of years.

     Our shameless disposal of our disgusting waste

         should bring all of humankind to tears

               and for our negligence, we should be disgraced.

Our irresponsible, rabid, plastic consumption

      on our health, is having an impact,

          but we carry on polluting with our stupid assumption

              there is no problem, let’s not overreact!

Every piece of plastic that’s ever been made

     since the early nineteenth century’s still here,

         do we not think that we have totally betrayed

             our planet that we should all hold so dear?

And now it has entered our very food chain

     we should all be filled with concern,

        as we are now consuming fish that contain

             plastic and we’re at the point of no return.

The world’s oceans are drowning in our waste,

     do we think that this will all disappear,

          this is a problem that we have never faced

              and it will be here for hundreds of years.

Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and even heart disease

     can be caused by plastic in our meals,

          as we continue unabated to pollute the blue seas

               this sickening dilemma relentlessly steals

our paradise that we are here to safeguard.

     Over ninety percent of seabirds, have in their gut

          plastic from our watery junk yard,

               we must stop our addiction to plastic now,

                                but

the greatest threat to our planet is our belief

     that someone else will save it,

         will we watch it all through the tears of grief

                and as guardians we are so unfit.

Their empty bottle lay on the wave lapped scree

     as they turned to leave the gold sands,

         the sky was blue above the turquoise sea

                and they’d finished topping up their tans.

Just one little bottle won’t make any odds

    is probably what they were thinking,

        let’s face it, it’s in the lap of the gods

              and they left paradise unblinking!