bottles, cans, straws

waltzed upon the sandy ballroom.

mute nocturnal tides

swept the sojourned mirror

into the embrace

of a dying seagull.

its eyes peered

to the reflected swollen abdomen —

as its stomach erupted

to a spewing shower of plastic

this scene of human depravity,

from careless consumerism

to the lives lost, caters

to peoples’ ravenous hunger of plastic.

the ocean is tired

of assaults upon its children;

her arms cradles the beach,

imploring it to open its eyes

salty dews

caressed the mirror

as sun baked dust —

mourning in rivulets

rising tides break free

of the shackles that forced it to kneel—

emboldened, it raised its arms

and slapped the shore.