For all of the volunteers out there that have spent countless hours cleaning our beaches, I present to you some reflection from my own personal efforts to rid our beaches of marine debris and plastic pollution. I'm no poet, nor do I stick to any precise Haiku laws here beyond the 3-line and syllable count, so with great humility and without further ado, here's 7 beach cleanup haikus that came to me amongst the sandy beaches of Oregon I've combed this year:
By the wind sailor,
I know you are not plastic,
but I will look twice.
Pyrosomes scatter
the beach but they are not trash
nor a small sex toy
No, it’s not more stuff
From tsunami in Japan
It’s from everywhere
Seagrass you fool me
Bleached by sun you remind me
of packaging bands
Plastic bag of poop
Alone on a quiet beach
Will owner return?
Dear agate hunter
Your time would be as well spent
removing plastic
Mighty summer north
Wind blows and consequently
Sand covers plastic
As a founding member of the Newport, OR Chapter, Charlie has greatly advanced Surfrider's mission through ocean conservation as the Oregon Policy Manager. With a BS in Marine Biology and as a member of the Oregon Ocean Policy Advisory Council, Charlie’s ties to the ocean reach far and wide.