Leaving port once again,
never knowing if or when
we'll return, so until we do,
I'll carry with me thoughts of you,
and, tho' sails are set, charted course laid out,
there's still time to come about,
now, as the skipper shouts, “Helm's a-lee!” to me,
then's when I know, here's where I should be,
at the wheel, the vessel in stays,
yet, I can but do, the best I can,
as a running sea has many ways,
of soundly grounding, both ship and man.
Sea Level
Below sea level resides the
alumnus or
alumnae of
being caught in
the middle of
everything.
Global Temperature Rise, is telling us
the human race, has to revolutionize
Our Warming Oceans, is not surprising
with dying coral, from dirty emissions
Shrinking Ice Sheets, will increase demise
with no action, flooding our streets
The Glacial Retreat, needs to stabilize
for all life, wanting to compete
Decreased Snow Cover, is very unwise
for nature’s creatures, with territory hangover
Sea Level Rise, needs to minimize
for life’s protection, not for traumatize
Declining Sea Ice, is bad downsize
with warming skies, a human enterprise
Extreme Whether Events, are negative highs
with total destruction, and tremendous agonize
The Ocean Acidification, makes us realize
we are killing, our life’s evolution
Late fall and a few tourists
trickle in to ride the chair lift
to see the alpine larch, golden
against the first wisps of snow.
Some even hike down to the lodge
but most return they way they came
to the new Irish style pub and sip
a whisky mix which really isn’t sour
and inhale the smoke of imported peat.
Time’s passage feels like molasses
yet the glaciers are melting.
Soon enough our grandkids will rise to
mountain parakeets rather than chickadees
but at least they’ll be above sea level.
The Sea Level Is Rising
By Elton Camp
Back in the 1950s when I was a child
That sea level would rise seemed wild
Even those who thought that it might
Centuries into the future set that fright
It was only a concern for some distant day
But the reality has already come our way
The way polar ice melts at a faster rate
The problem will worsen early, not late
It is those who live very close to the coast
That from the disaster will suffer the most
Southern Florida may vanish into the sea
And we aren’t sure how soon that may be
Entire island nations are likely to disappear
Massive relocations we now have to fear
Those living inland in pleasure may grunt
For their property may become waterfront
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