The Wonderous Sea's Coral Reef
by Michael Doyle

There's a moving declaration of love
Dedicated to the beauty of Mother Ocean
It is as pristine as the heavens above
This water planet deserves our devotion

Jacques Cousteau was like a father to us all
Sharing underwater images for us to recall
We too, joined as divers under the rolling sea
Dreaming as we did of every possibility

The largest and smallest citizens of this sea
Are caught in their moments of sheerest beauty
Like all the tropics, Fiji's coral is its heart
With pulsations of life that are the ocean's start

These oasis-like heavens keep the oceans alive
Without their splendor, life would not survive
Looking as if plants made up from limestone
These reefs consist of colonial animals, never alone

Skeletons built on skeletons built on each other
One part structural firmament and waving leaves together
Act to form the basis of the ocean's lungs and hearts
Swaying and weaving to feed in layers that won't depart

We are caught up in the beauty of the dolphin's majesty
And often swim by the smaller lives that also have dignity
Small worms and mollusks that share in the plankton
That drifts by wandering as it does, constantly moving on and on

Though we think of clams as tiny, some grow to 500 pounds
Simply by filtering its food from the waters that surround
Survival for all is to eat and eat and escape being ate
The strategies are infinitely tested in avoiding that fate

Symbiotic partners such as the clownfish and the sea anemone
Form natural alliances in the struggle against common enemies
Some dream of one day building human cities under the sea
But nothing will ever compare to the natural reefs' majesty

Nudibranchs and flatworms travel inch after inch, so slowly
But as humble as they are, they live lives full of dignity
While branded coral shrimp live off the scraps from cleaning
Proving that all life has its form, function, and meaning

The evidence seen all around, given and living in prevalence 
Shows that life in the sea is a matter of ecological balance
To change even one variable in even one or any direction
Is to endanger all life unless there is a course correction

The crown of thorns is shaped as if a thorny sort of star
It leaves a wounded reef covered in its life-sucking scars
Gone are the triton's horns to the shelves, collecting dust
It was the keeper of balance in its part of nature's trust

And now life out of balance is proving to have its cost
It must be turned around before all of known life is lost
This is the vain price that the oceans undeservedly pay
For mankind's selfish pleasure and for our moments of play

(c) May 6, 2023   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved