Not very long ago,

I walked along the continental shelf;

I slowly sank to the bottom

the struggling bubbles that were escaping

from my breathless mouth

disappeared.



As I became one with the ocean

magical powers helped me fall

fall down deep

deep beneath the treacherous waves and rabid foam

that helped create the earth above



As my feet dented the sandy bottom,

the fall was over

and my journey began,

so I took a walk,

footprint by footprint



My ocean - soft hair was sweeping above my head

as I imagine a mermaid's would

my eyes sparkled as I gave a greeting to

a psychedelic clownfish on his way

to his awaiting school friends



A friendly octopus, the

prince of his seaweed bed

handed me a fanned seashell

brought me faded memories of something I used to know

something called Earth;

earthtones descended from this special shell



But I kept on walking

I walked through the overwhelming mass of water

colorful ocean life

happy fish and peaceful creatures of every kind

I felt this precious environment with every sense I had

I loved it.



Everything was beautiful

until a cloud of blackness fell;

there was something behind a wall

a dark, salty seaweed wall:

something mysterious

something scary

something I was meant to see



As my soft, water-wrinkled hands pushed away

this horrible cloud of darkness,

I held a bit of fear in my heart,

fear of the unknown other side,



But when the wall was demolished

the terrifying truth was waiting on the other side

it was not some awful sea monster,

it was not an awful, ugly sea creature



it was the mark of a human,

an old, rusty, aluminum can

some careless being had dropped upon

my incredible wonderland.



Was this thoughtless person out to destroy?

I doubt it

but it happened.

Maybe not intentionally, but it happened.

as my eyes witnessed this symbol of destruction,

I began rising to the top.



I didn't fight it,

but as my head reached the surface,

I began to cry

because my journey was complete

and the only thing that was left were



My tracks

in the ocean.