I wrote this poem for the Big Tent Poetry prompt "I want to write about ___." I struggled all week to write about the oil spill, but words eluded me until this morning. For me, I think that's the point. It is too big for words. I also thought about other disasters, such as the earthquake in Haiti, which were for a while front page news. The Haitian situation continues to be tragic, but it is no longer front page news. I found myself wondering how long the Gulf Oil Spill will be front page news, though it will have tragic consequences for decades. The fight against it sometimes seems so futile as oil continues to spew day after day. I also find myself wondering what will be the next event that will be 'front page news.'
Front Page News
Gulf Oil Spill
too big for words
front page news.
Pipe spews venom
out of control cancer
spurts, spreads, sickens.
Unquenchable black slick
loss of life, habitat, jobs
environment devastated
beyond repair, agent of
Satan changes Gulf
forever, not finished yet.
How long will the futile
fight against evil continue
to be front page news?
We all have the same struggle at times when it comes to it. I think the prompt did more than help us write a poem. For some (me) it got us out of a "dry spell." It's a wonderfully written piece! Sometimes, not feeling adequate enough, makes the best poetry! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete-Weasel
Mary I think this situation has not even begun to show us how bad it really is going to be! Nicely written!
ReplyDeletePamela
it's a great question. uma addresses a variation of this in her piece this week! they would make great companion pieces -- a sub genre of oil spill poems.
ReplyDeleteI cried last night watching the news. Everyday is so sad. This will, unfortunately, not go away in our grandchildren's life time. Many species may be lost forever, many already on endangered lists, turtles being one, the brown pelican just coming off endangered will now go back on...My question always is, where was BPs Risk Management Plan? For that matter, what about all the other oil companies? Also, its known now that BP cut corners to save money and to save time...at the most tragic expense...human lives, wildlife devastation, livelihoods destroyed.
ReplyDeleteI like your piece Mary, and this way of finding a way in to write about something hard.
ReplyDeleteI think about the spill a lot more than I want to, Mary. I'm glad to read your words. I haven't written about it but I may now. I keep wondering how long this can go on and lost hope of a quick solution long ago. It's just astounding that this can happen. Since I live in Florida I can just imagine the devastation it is causing all along the coast of those hardest hit. We see tar balls on our beaches so this will have some long lasting affects on the whole of the USA. So upsetting.
ReplyDeleteA new worry is the fisherman boat captain who was working for BP who committed suicide yesterday. I hope this does not continue.
ReplyDeleteExtremely well written.
Some see the face of Jesus in a frosted windowpane or a grilled cheese sandwich; your vision of Satan in the oil leak (I will NOT call it a spill) is genius. Brave write, this one.
ReplyDeleteYes, the oil leak is such a big tragedy it is hard to think what to write about it--how to get down to the feelings about it. You did a good job here on a hard topic. You have inspired me though--I will perhaps try this prompt too!
ReplyDeleteReally like your response and its level of honesty. This was a great prompt and I'm enjoying all of the reading.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
It is indeed difficult to not struggle with disaster or tragedy. It becomes emotional, personal to us. Your poem captures that quite well.
ReplyDeleteDisaster coverage is directly related to attention spans and dollar grabs. I hope it isn't a futile fight. Well written piece.
ReplyDeleteI'm just going to say to everyone who has commented on this poem...thank you so very much. The oil 'spill' has been continually on my mind, and I really have NOT known what to write about it. Your support for my poetic endeavors is appreciated!
ReplyDeleteStrong poem about world damaging event - oil leak is continuously on my mind too and I also have just started writing about it this week.
ReplyDeleteIt's an environmental disaster that is difficult to write about. Good that poems of protest like yours are coming out.--Irene
ReplyDeleteAnd soon we will be desensitized to the news coverage and it will go the way of wars and atrocities
ReplyDeletethat we are confronted with on a daily basis.
Mary Mary
with silver bells and cockle shells
is the way to go.
You're right, the oil leak is too big for words. It's frustrating and sad and horrible. And every day that passes , when it still hasn't been stopped, is a travesty.
ReplyDeleteMary - you have captured so many of the images I couldn't quite articulate. Similar themes - the sickening, spreading, cancer . . . the loss of life, jobs, and the fear that it will be too soon forgotten before the damage is done.
ReplyDeleteIt's a sad fact of the way "news" works... once there's another crisis the cameras and keyboards abandon the previous one. You're right, this one is too big for words.
ReplyDeleteI like the way this read as a "news" segment. Your thoughts are so very correct, here, also. It will be news until something else takes the attention away...
ReplyDeleteFront Page News says it so very well. It is amazing how fast these things fade from being big news, how short the modern attention span is. But their effects last for so long for so many. I think New Orleans is still struggling with its devastation and you hardly see it mentioned any more.
ReplyDelete