“By the Bay” by Eric C

    About a decade from present, I remember standing in awe, watching moonlit tides ebb on the shore of San Diego’s beautiful Mission Bay. Salty seaweed stuck to the sand as pearlescent shells washed ashore, all the while translucent sand crabs struggled to traverse the mossy obsidian rocks which peaked above the bank. A light mist hovered over the black lagoon and shrouded any smooth rock which attempted to skip farther than the previous. The focal point of my mesmerism arrived afar, under a glossy illuminated lighthouse at which three venous canals splurged viridescent sewage upon a dense haze which eventually crawled into the sea. Such a spectacle trembled my young heart! How could we possibly plague this tableau of grandeur with our own machinations? Agitation gripped my throat and increased my heart palpitations in which I vowed to do whatever in my power to retain the natural beauty that still hypnotizes me today. Oceans provide us with new medicines, food sources, and a homeostatic climate in which we turn our heads and propel another million tons of waste hereto. Few things rip me out of my placid disposition than when someone tosses “only one wrapper” or “just a bottle” onto the floor with little conscience of where it might end up. All I merely ask, all the oceans merely ask, is that you make sure to be mindful of how and what you do with your waste products.