Photo by David Ford.
Turtle Island is proud to showcase Gabe Clemenceau, a 6th Grader at Sinaloa Middle School, in Marin, CA.
Gabe wrote this ode to sea turtles, CHELONIOIDEA. Chelonioidea is an 1820’s New Latin word for sea turtles. Former Turtle Island Program Director Teri Shore brought this to our attention. Turtle Island also wants to give credit to Gabe’s teachers, Tracy Walker and Claire Blotter.
CHELONIOIDEA
Some say
I am an aggressive creature
But they have not seen my shell
glittering in the morning sun
Warmth
The water is so cold
I smell the fragrance of the beach
So many new scents every day
New people
I see them throwing trash in my ocean
Trash that will hurt my friends
Wounded
I hear the crashing of waves
The chattering of many voices
Animal and human alike
The whales singing
The screams of fish as they are draped in huge nets
Entangled
My home
The coral
The beaches
Waves crashing like boulders
Voices
Animals
Danger
So many predators
Blood in the water
Fleeing
Safe
Crashing like waves
Singing like whales
The creatures of the ocean live on
Guided by me
I am
The spirit of this ocean
