A July Walk Along The Gulf Shore

Prompt:You are walking along the beach and you discover something very unusual. Tell me what it is, how it got there, where it came from and whatever else your imagination comes up with.




A gull lay dying in the sand;
the cause was by the hand of man.
Its feathers covered in ebony tar,
from an off-shore oil well deep and far
below the surface of the sea--
from Deep Water Horizon’s great folly.
Environmental havoc wreaked
by men whose efforts tried to seek
earth’s resources to power cars
and lights and sometimes even wars
with petroleum from down below.
Sadly, God’s creatures reaped the woe
when their habitat was violated
by a dense black flood that’s not been abated.
Many attempts to stop its flow
have left those who are in the know
frustrated and pointing blame.
Politicians seeking their own fame
give endless speeches with no pause
citing many a quick fix to aid the cause
while the deep blue sea and all that’s in it
suffers more with each passing minute.
Toxins poisoning life at sea--
shellfish, corals and anemones;
nothing escapes this fouling crude.
The ocean’s food chain has been imbued
with toxic waste that was never meant
to mix with the sea’s environment.
This devastating spill also impacts
humans, too, and that’s a fact.
Fishing, restaurants, tourism, too
are all affected by this goo.
While heads are searching for solutions
the gulf is damaged by pollution.