Climate Change Poem 3

Great Egret taking flight, June 2010

Two global events are occurring on September 24, 2011:

1. Moving Planet, a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis.


2. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change.


I thought: Why not do both?

Barring an emergency, I am posting from midnight to midnight, one poem per hour (at any time during that hour). That's starting from 00:00-01:00 and ending at 23:00-24:00 Eastern Time today.

All the poems are sonnets. Each takes its cue from an article dealing with climate change. The articles had been posted beginning on September 15 -- the date of the 24-hour Climate Reality Project that inspired me to do this -- to September 19, the day I drafted the twenty-fourth poem.


The poem for Hour 3 takes its cue from "Global warming brings exotic fish to British waters but at a cost" (Steven Morris, Guardian, Sept. 15, 2011).

Fish Exchange

The cod and haddock fisheries decline.
Red mullet, hake, and dab glide in their place.
Swift change is underway in ocean brine
As southern fish propel toward northern space.

Perhaps to fishermen, this is a boon.
Before northeast Atlantic waters warmed,
The catch for lemon sole had ceased in June.
Now in September tide those fish have swarmed.

Diversity in seafood might result.
A push to stretch the dining public's taste
Might make the fishing industry exult.
Why let this climate change all go to waste?

Our staple foods might die, our diets fade,
But who's to tell what species might invade?

Audio (1:14):

Part of the Solution website (chosen at random)
Make Mine Bluegreen -- a nonprofit organization founded for the primary goal to eliminate accumulated trash both in our oceans and on the shores of our beaches and islands, while raising awareness to the public the importance of reducing waste and recycling.
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks.

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