LISTEN TO READING
I
In Kauai, Hawaii—a place I’ve never been— I see the Laysan Albatross, nesting.
II
Running a species off the planet
at the whimsy of a feather boa or hat
makes light this burden borne by
the eponymous bird, the albatross
Unable to regurgitate hooks and plastic
and snagged by nets
it has been stuck up
to its neck in the muck
Muck uncoiled from
Fukishima’s boiling wave
Wave that slapped so hard
it fell backwards
onto an Hawaiian atoll—
Oh the role of the albatross is so onerous—
It must try to escape
dog, pig, house cat, pet mongoose—
Even he US military has declared
the world’s oldest living bird
an aviation hazard
The seas submerge
10,000. 200,000 nests count
the losses. The causes—
our albatross