Literature

Oil Spill

Just like that – blue becomes black.
The crests of waves are black ink
And dark swells of the sea glisten
Like metal smeared in gloss paint.

The night has fallen into the sea,
Blinding the fish and clogging gills –
And their bodies rise to the surface
Like black bubbles in black ooze.

Gulls wear black coats to disguise
Themselves as ravens of the sea
The slick reaches the shore, uncoils
Its black tongue and licks the beach.

The seals struggle to raise their eyes
From the black carpet of sand to see
The humans using fingers to count
The cost of another black catastrophe. ¹

By Andrew Frolish