Nature Series - The Monsters at Sea

The Monsters at Sea

Shoals of kaleidoscopic fish weave in and out of another, their locomotion generating forceful ripples throughout the seabed. The saffron beast glides effortless through the current, its eight legs gripping and sailing around its torso, forming a protective barrier against the brittle, coarse coral, as it propels itself through the bustling ocean. The melodic chorale of the whale echoes to the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, rumbling on the base of the bed and sending thousands of bottom feeders scrambling in all directions. The hum of the restless underworld appears fickle in comparison to the harmonious, composed creature that glides throughout the Neptune, its aura radiating a wise experience only time can grant. A great shell encompassed the turtle's back, speckled with the most mesmerising ambers, chestnuts, olives and jades – as if nature was an artist, and the turtle was its canvas. It's presence alone was enough to calm the unruly waves above the surface, as this creature was the King of the Ocean and his rule was unchallenged. And that had been true for many years, centuries even, before man had plagued the oceans, far and wide, and poured their mountains of intensifying waste into the once wholesome seven seas.

Behind the beauty of iridescent waves, lives a world ignored my man, destroying the life that once thrived there. The sea turtle struggles, as the confines of the plastic pluck and pull at his frame, polluting the waters it calls home. The debris carpets every segment of the sea bed, piles upon piles of synthetics building higher and higher, until great kingdoms of pollution enslave the marine creatures. The shoals of fish are hindered and held captive by the soldiers of refuse, and the resilient octopi falls in defeat against the flotsam and jetsam. The whales sing songs of sadness and despair, and the sharks retreat back in defeat, for they know that fight as they may, the humans relentlessly persist. Plastic engulfs the turtle's lungs, scratching and abrading tighter and tighter, as the turtle pleads and fights for his life. But it is no use. For man has plagued the oceans, far and wide, and poured their mountains of intensifying waste into the once wholesome sevens seas. Tales of monsters at sea ring true, though the monsters aren't great beasts or krakens – instead, they appear in the form of greed, gluttony and satiety, and live among us, in the form of me and you.