Fish swim in schools
For protection,
For foraging,
For a sense of belonging
For crucial tools
To their survival.
Advancements around us
Make the world
Seem fast paced,
Prompting us
To make impossible orbits,
In an attempt to be the same.
Perfect 4.0 GPAs,
SAT scores,
Personal achievements,
Make Bs unacceptable,
Mistakes unheard of.
Friends are no longer seen
As helpers,
Supporters,
Our cheerleaders.
But as competitors,
Blockades to our own
Personal successes,
Always seen as the
Opposing team.
The sharks
With their jagged, sharp teeth,
Ready to prey on your success.
But as a single fish
Cannot survive alone,
Hunt successfully,
Or protect itself,
Without the help of its school.
We can no longer afford
This lifestyle
Which only results in
environments as polluted
as the Pacific trash vortex.
Independence,
Competition,
And personal achievements
Are not toxic by nature,
But it is the pure and
excessive emphasis
On these attributes
That drown me
In the polluted waters
Of stress
and dissatisfaction with myself.
Finding our own schools,
To protect ourselves,
To find a sense of belonging,
Are crucial tools
To our survival.
I LOVE! So good Rebecca pan! I love love love how you outline competition and relate it to society today, and then argue that it is good and actually helpful. My favorite line would be " But as a single fish / Cannot survive alone, / Hunt successfully" and my favorite device that you use is the line breaks in literally every stanza :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the analogy you used between schools of fish and us, it is poetic yet very literal and I like your use of enjabment. My favorite line is Prompting us
ReplyDeleteTo make impossible orbits because I can really identofy with it.