Cerulean salt water, white, frothy foam
Hugging, caressing, embracing,
All who approach welcomed with joy,
Serene water lapping at delicate feet.
Children swim in the transparent sapphire
Accompanied by schools of tranquil fish,
Some yellow and ebony, others emerald,
Returning unharmed from the friendly water.
A day later, rebellion strikes the sea.
Azure water transforming into murky brown,
Enclosing all that dare approach.
Gold, wood, brick swirl amidst the chaos.
Panicked screams echo
Over the moan of the churning waves.
The sound of death resounds, imprisoning innocents,
As the deadly water encloses cold flesh.
Chaotic hospitals filled worldwide
With the guileless victims of the salt,
Children, toddlers asking the dreaded questions,
Where is Mommy? Daddy? Sister?
Only the rhythmic beating of the waves
The resurfacing of treadmills and broken glass,
The jolt of corpses’ impact on amber sand,
Give an answer to the child’s pleas.
Where have they gone?
The water knows, the deceptive water,
The docile sea which pretends obedience,
But instead steals innocence into its clouded depths.
They will never look at the ocean the same way.