lament for the Gulf
the silence in the coastal communities
is almost deafening,
as shrimp boats lie still in
the harbor waters,
the nets on fishing trawlers wave gently
in the soft breeze,
the crews standing on the docks
staring into the hopeless
future,
their livelihoods snatched away
when Leviathan slipped off
the hook set for him
in the deep sea.
the marshlands
echo with the cries of
the egret and heron,
the pelican and seagull,
who find their sheltered
home
a dumping station
for human greed;
the turtle with its young
plods slowly along,
knowing they cannot outrun
terror’s tide about
to sweep over them.
your heart is over the waters,
Tender God,
broken,
aching,
weeping,
longing,
your keening voice
joining the anitphonal
soundings of the whales
from the depths of despair.
(c) 2010 Thom M. Shuman
