Today’s poem is dedicated to a special demographic. For those unaware, Accomack County is one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic in Virginia. Tangier Island, one of our treasured communities, is safe, but if the pandemic reaches its shores the results could be devastating. I’ve been a Bull Islander and a Shoreman, and by that, I am blessed.
Ode To The Chesapeake Bay Watermen
We go out in boats
Catch the sun’s morning rays
In nets and crab pots
Tossed over the sides
Into brackish green depths
These channels – our roadways
Through marshes and creeks
The bay feeds our veins
Where we have sewn seeds
Young oysters – new reefs
Repairing pollution
To save our way of life
Our houses on stilts
(As sea levels rise)
Overlook a world over water
And ospreys laugh songs
We bring in our bushels
To markets by shores
Sell seafood by dozens
No quotas or weights
And pray to a God
For mercy and hope
In the next hurricane
There never been Noahs
In the many Great Floods
But still, we are
People of faith
Thank you so much for reading my poem today! If you found its words meaningful, please consider liking, commenting, and/or sharing it with others. Truly, I am grateful for the time you spent reading my work.
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