Perspectives

by Cathy Li

Gentle laps of the ocean brush my feet
The water lurches forward and retreats back
It’s a gift
A privilege– to experience, such a vast,
Mysterious
Being, breathing– in and out, in and out,
I’m jealous of it
An eternal blue flame, fiery and free
The susurration of water colliding with each other, whoosh whoosh whoosh
It’s whispering something to me,
Pleading for help, desperate…
“Amy, get in the car! We’re going home!” my mother calls out to me,
And my thoughts are disrupted,
I look back at the water one more time before walking to my car.

It’s suffocating it’s suffocating
I can’t breathe I can’t breathe
Plastic packaging choking me
Crawling on my skin
Enveloping me,
I’m fighting a foreign monster, foreign to these waters
Spiritless and cruel
I can only cry out
Help me help me help me.

My alarm clock blares in my ear,
I jolt awake with an indignation to the timepiece,
My eyes half-closed, swollen and puffy
I dread the school day ahead of me
But the thought of last night placates me,
I imagine
The waves tickling my feet
Coarse sand crunching under my hand–
I grab my school bag and head downstairs,
“Your water bottle is still in the dishwasher,” my mother tells me,
She passes me a plastic water bottle
I throw it in my bag and walk out the door.

It was once beautiful here,
Magnificent and enticing
Vibrant hues interlocked in a complex maze of coral, a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors
Schools of juvenile fish bustling in and out
It’s a sanctuary of life that
I watch over everyday, as I glide in the currents
Basking in the sunlight seeping through the water,
Never once did the liveliness die
It was harmonious,
We held hands in a strong circle we thought could never break,
But we were too naive…

I feel myself gravitate
Toward that eternal blue flame again
Dragging my school bag behind me
I plop down on the dusty sand
And watch as the water glittered
Under the setting sun,
It was hypnotic–
But I was pulled out of my trance
When something rough and unforgiving gripped onto my free feet,
I look down to see, caught between my toes,
A plastic bag?
It was the complete opposite to the
Perpetual healing of the ocean, the radiating energy
I stare at the trash
In contempt and disgust.

I failed to watch over the coral reefs,
I’m caged in a murky cloud,
For miles I can’t find the joyous spirit that was once here,
Not the youthful fish nor the embracing colors,
The ocean’s soul has been robbed
And I’m surrounded by these foreign monsters that choke me
Choke us
Kill us
I draw my last breath in a plea for help.

I hear it again,
That voice
A whisper
I can feel it breathe against the crook of my neck
A quiet moaning from the ocean,
It sounds mournful, dying
A fated corpse taking its last breaths
I shudder,
I should get home before it’s too dark.