Synthetic fossils
adjoin the coastline.
Fallen into dirty piles
they wait to be
shucked clean of sand,
and mud,
and debris.
Flowing like tallow
beneath the waves.
 
Fleece jackets
wick our irritants.
Fallen into dirty piles
they wait to be
shucked clean of sand,
and mud,
and debris.
Bleeding poisons
with every wash.
 
Fragile vessels
drink their fill.
Fallen into dirty piles
they wait to be
shucked clean of sand,
and mud,
and debris.
Diving for answers
when we could be diving for pearls.
Pacific oyster shell and pearl (Image Credit: Science Photo Library).
This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that microplastics are being discovered in Pacific oysters and razor clams along the Oregon coast, in the United States.
Microplastics (i.e. those plastics that are