The Oceans Shall Give Back What Is Ours by SmithaV at Spillwords.com

The Oceans Shall Give Back What Is Ours

The Oceans Shall Give Back What Is Ours

written by: SmithaV

@SmithaVishwana4

 

The rains lash the city night and day, with a vengeance

The sky roars and thunders; promising turbulence

Mountains loom large, watching over it all, in stupefied silence

And the sweeping winds swerve, blowing hot and cold, in hostile defiance

 

Raging oceans swell, frothing brown

Bountiful waves, treasures schlepp, slow them down

A legacy bequeathed by every man in city and town

Receding crests, leave gifts behind, making us frown

 

From far and wide, they wash ashore

In their bosom held, swept at our door

Not pretty mermaids or jewels of Arabian Nights’ lore

The surging tides are returning to us, so much more

 

Tonnes they give, the unselfish, magnanimous seas –

Theirs: fish big and small, mammoth whales; what a tease?

And ours: plastic, garbage, waste, and disease

They, mighty and strong, had vouched to bring Man on his knees

 

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

On 13 July 2018, high tides dumped 120 tonnes of garbage on Juhu Beach in Mumbai. Thousands of tonnes of waste were washed over all the beaches across Mumbai.

SmithaV

SmithaV

Smitha Vishwanath is a banker turned writer. She began her writing journey in 2016 through her blog. Thieving Magpies, Spillwords Press, Silverbirch Press, Borderless Journal, and Rebelle Society have published her poetry. In 2019, her poem, 'Omid' was nominated for Best of the Net and her poems, 'Do you have dreams?' and 'Forgotten' were given special mention in NaPoWriMo, 2021 and 2022, hosted by Maureen Thomson. In addition, she was awarded the Reuel International Prize for poetry by the online group TSL. In 2019, she co-authored a book of poetry, 'Roads- A journey with Verses', which received positive reviews. Smitha's writing is peppered with the lessons learned from the plethora of invaluable experiences that come from having lived in India, UAE and Iran, worked in a multi-cultural environment and travelled widely. She resides in Dhaka, Bangladesh, with her husband and two daughters. When she is not writing, you can find her painting, travelling, or sharing reviews of books she has read on Goodreads, Amazon, and her blog. She is excited about her debut novel, 'Coming Home', which will be released on 18th March 2023.
SmithaV

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