First seen and reported on
By Christopher Columbus
In 1492.
In 2008, a mere
Five hundred and sixteen years later
The Caribbean Monk Seal
Pronounced extinct.
A defenseless species
Unable to compete
Their besieged habitat
Rapidly did deplete.
A harmonious environment
That once existed `
Here on Caribbean beaches
Mother's nursed their young
The fine balance tipped
Their food supply stripped
Humans besieging
Both sea and beaches
The harmless Monk Seals
Lost their home
No longer Mother's cry
Out for their young.
Extinction is forever a
Cessation of existence.
We as humans can understand this.
© Juan Ponce de León
*The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's - Fisheries Service
Has officially confirmed - The Caribbean Monk Seal is now extinct.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem