Moonlit Rainbow | Teen Ink

Moonlit Rainbow

August 28, 2014
By rising_sun BRONZE, San Diego, California
rising_sun BRONZE, San Diego, California
2 articles 0 photos 5 comments

Favorite Quote:
“No one can give a definition of the soul. But we know what it feels like. The soul is the sense of something higher than ourselves, something that stirs in us thoughts, hopes, and aspirations which go out to the world of goodness, truth and beauty. The soul is a burning desire to breathe in this world of light and never to lose it--to remain children of light.”
― Albert Schweitzer


The sun hovered listlessly in the falling sky, unable to escape the cruel clutches of time. Defeated, the sun sank beneath the sea, and like the tides, the light did recede. The coming of night placed eerie shadows on the walls that towered above me, making the sky seem small. I took in a breath, freeing the trapped and lonely air, but then a sound echoed and I screamed in despair. Clouds consumed the sunless sky, my tattered wings lay broken, no I cannot fly. Thunder echoed through the shadeless water, my ears screaming like lambs led to the slaughter. Another thud decimated the sky, like the bombs that fell, exploding in my mind. Memories flashed by in a raging river, and the wind howled, causing me to shiver. Tears fell from the mournful sky, and the people down below never wondered why it cried. But I looked up and felt its pain, screaming in the night, receiving only looks of disdain. I cringed as the sky grew angry, unable to take the pain and doleful misery. As the sky continued to crack, a memory lurched forward and I gasped. My body hovered above the ocean, draped in a net. My mother screamed from down below, swimming towards me, but to her daughter she could not get. As I was carried away I cried, unable to escape the cruel clutches of time. The days of old were washed away, and now I am prisoner in some bloody game. The sky shook and trembled once more, and in the distance I heard a wave strike the shore. I looked longingly towards the sound, only to realize no more hope could be found. Defeated, I sunk beneath the shadeless water, knowing I would never again see my mother. I screamed at the angry sky, begging it to tell me why... Why I was whisked away, why my captors were led so astray, why it was me who was tossed into the fray, and why I must be a pawn in this bloody game. My lungs begged me to take a breath, but still screaming at the sky I ignored their request. As the light slowly faded to black, the sky uttered one final crack. Suddenly the wind blew all the clouds away, and the moon rose high above, warming me with its rays. Colors illuminated the night sky, uniting in a rainbow that shimmered in the moon's light. My wings were healed, ready to fly, ready to soar above this dreadful night. Never will I give up, never will I stand down. Even if those around you don't give a f***, light can always be found.


The author's comments:

Zach, a 12th grade student from San Diego, California, has been an animal activist for over four years and a vegetarian his entire life. Both a video producer and a writer, Zach is currently working on novels about Angel, an albino dolphin who was captured in Taiji, Japan, as well as about a captured orca named Lolita. Zach is also the junior activist captain of Earthrace Conservation Society’s Junior Activist Club, and the social media campaigner for Protest SeaWorld, a registered non-profit in San Diego.

This poem is in the perspective of a captive orca named Lolita, and exposes the sentient nature of cetaceans and the suffering they are forced endure in captivity. It also shows that there is always light to be found even at the darkest points in our life. Life is like a roller coaster ride, and the ups and downs make it worth living.

I wrote the poem by hand in Costa Rica this summer. The inspiration came when I was patrolling the beach to protect sea turtle eggs from poachers one night. When sitting down for a sip of water, I looked up at the full moon and saw a moonlit rainbow shimmering in the sky.

There are so many things in nature we take for granted, or miss, because of technology and needless worries.


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