Poem for the Pacific Fisher, 'Climate Change', by Ellen Taylor
Climate Change
Ascending Allwardt Creek, on slippery stones
Our senses sharpened, suddenly we froze:
Before us lay a Fisher’s whitened bones
All perfectly aligned, from tail to nose.
It curled so naturally, as if asleep-‐
Like little Kurdi, on the Turkish beach;
Or Inca princess, bared by glacial creep-‐
This relic too had something it would teach.
O Andes! Cloak your kings again in snow!
Indifferent yachts, raise Aylan from the seas!
O urgent bones, precise as a Tarot
Adjure your suppicants: speak for the Trees!
Light-‐years away, their vital forces spent
A million planets whisper their assent.
