"We have a bright future if we want it,
but we have to do something now." Rob Stewart (1979-2017)
Off the shores of Costa Rica
life becomes a delicacy,
hooked from blue heavens
only to slip back in, rudderless,
wasted -
trophy price collected
as we sip shark fin soup.
Four hundred and fifty million years
they've filled the oceans, now culled,
super predator crown has slipped -
a title we obviously coveted
pride ourselves clever,
careless of our dependency,
ignorant of our responsibility.
by Margaret Bednar, December 18, 2020
PLEASE do yourself a favor and watch the movie "Sharkwater Extinction" (I watched it on Amazon Prime Video) and also READ the attached post written by Sherry Marr "Earthweal - Weekly Challenge Shark Poetry"
Costa Rica is not the only country guilty, it's just the first place the documentary takes us - the movie highlights Panama, Cabo Verde (Africa), Los Angelos, Key Largo, FL, Spain... (but there are many more) Los Angelos had nets that trapped all sorts of fish - dolphins, turtles, whales, sharks - I believe this has been finally banned in CA.
Conservation is the preservation of humans. We must not forget we depend upon the oceans for our life...
6 comments:
Ignorant of our responsibility
sadly that sounds about right!!!
Awesome take on the challenge and a beautiful poem!
Margaret, how wonderful to see you at earthweal, and thank you for the shout-out. I am so glad you watched the film. Your poem is wonderful. Thanks for adding your voice to the conversation. Keep coming back. In the new year we plan some cool essays on elephants, lions, wolves and who knows what else?
Stark and poignant words. We have become the greatest predator but it may end up costing us dearly.
By the way, your son's blog is great! I'm having a children's poetry competition over on my site, he might be interested: https://experimentsinfiction.com/2020/12/16/eif-poetry-challenge-12-the-poetry-of-childhood/
Dear Margaret,
I have sent you an email regarding this poem. Please could you check and reply? Without your reply I will not be able to include it in the anthology.
Many thanks - Ingrid
Ingrid. I’m not sure which email you are using. I can’t find it. But yes! You have my permission. I am honored. You can use this email address: margaret.bednar@me.com. I thought I had responded a while back...
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