Seafaring stowaways
Dumped by
Careless bilge pumps
Once foreign, home
Quiet freshwater invasion
Clams now refugees
Tiniest zebras
Roaming submerged plains
OCD to clean – and glue
Small, razor sharp
Shell seeds
White putty insides
Sifting creepers
Scour water
Green to clear
Herons-adored
A traveler’s banquet
Easy pickins
Reside underside
Driftwood hide
Washed-up skeletons
Waterline displacers
Shards for sand
Foe, not friend
Kim of Writing in North Norfolk is today’s host of dVerse. Kim says:
The challenge is to write a poem in the format and style of either Plath or Hughes. It must be about something that grows or multiplies and is in some way invasive.
Please watch the slide show to learn more about these opportunistic invaders.
Slideshow came from here.
Tao Talk 
I had to check, and we have it here as well it’s not one of those that are worst I think, but apparently it’s spreading.
You made it seem almost good (at least to the herons)
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They did bring the great blue herons back, and they are plentiful now. I knew a lot about ZM, but after reading the slide presentation I see how menacing they are to the Great Lakes (and elsewhere)
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Great introduction of those insidious little zebra mussels that have negative impact on ecosystems! Well done..
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Thank you, Beverly 🙂
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The short sharp stanzas give this an insistent strength, works well with the theme. All those invasive species are pretty creepy.
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Thank you, Sarah. We have plant invaders here that are terrible also, which include phragmites (look like giant plumes) and purple loostrife.
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Awesome words! Great poem!
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Thanks Carol Anne!
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I don’t know much about zebra mussels. I do know that edible mussels are not as good as clams. Your Plath style poem rolls by, building for the last strong stanza.
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Thanks, Glenn. And these things are so small they are not edible by humans.
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I like mussels but not zebra ones. I used to cook them by the bushels at the restaurants. People would eat them and suck down beer.
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These are wee mussels, shell size as long as and half as wide as a fingernal. Never had mussels. Scallops now, YUM.
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I am working on a method to electrocute all of the zebra mussels.
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If you can do it without electrocuting everything else in the water, more power to you! Do you have ZM in FL?
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Zebra mussels have not reached Florida yet, but they are thriving nearby in Arkansas, Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
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They travel around on the bottoms of boats, which makes it so easy to spread 😦
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Sound like ruthless, relentless little bastards Lisa. Pox on them!
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I loved how they cleaned up Lake MI and brought the great blue herons back, but the more I learn about them the more sinister they become…
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I was diving in the Great lakes in the 80s, when the zebra Mussel infestation first hit. The water was clearer, and visibility vastly improved, but the damn things coated everything. By the time I was done diving in the late 90s, there were some shallow wrecks (down to 60 or 70 feet) that were unrecognizable. That was before the quagga were prevalent, so I imagine it’s much worse now on the deeper wrecks. I dived a few times on the wrecks in the Straits. I wonder how they have fared.
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That glue stuff where they go onto living creatures is terrifying.
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The style works perfectly with the subject. Invasion is the right word, and often there seems to be no defense. (K)
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I’m so pleased you wrote about the zebra mussels, Jade! Not many people know about them. I love that you describe them as ‘Seafaring stowaways’ and ‘Tiniest zebras / Roaming submerged plains’, and that they:
‘Reside underside
Driftwood hide
Washed-up skeletons’.
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Thanks Kim. Hoping you’re feeling better today.
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Thank you, Jade. The vomiting virus seems to be sharing but the chest infection is will awful. I hope to see the doctor tomorrow or on Friday.
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Sending you virtual chicken soup and peppermint-chamomile tea until then.
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😊
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I’m also glad you picked the zebras- such an insidious pest. The worst thing about lagging behind the pack is that people beat me to the bunch with their comments!
‘Reside underside
Driftwood hide
Washed-up skeletons”
is also my stanza of choice. But I loved the whole thing and thought it extremely clever that you managed to work Sylvia’s “white” into your poem – also appreciated “shards for sand” and the way you managed to use hackneyed old friend/foe in a fresh viable way.
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Christine thank you for your comments and helping me to appreciate what I’ve written more!
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I like the rhythm – it carries a sense of urgency about the foe.
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Thank you, Paul. It is an urgent matter, so I’m glad it does. Does Australia have them in their waters?
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They’re not known in the south western part but as for the rest I don’t know, now I’ll have to check 🙂
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No, it doesn’t seem to be present, no sightings. But most of our fresh water has a natural high salt level.
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Wouldn’t that make it salt water? I guess in this case it is a plus for you. I wonder if highly salinating our water to kill them then de-salinating it would help??
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The way things are going it will just happen 🙁
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the last line felt like a loud period. creatively done!
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Thank you for reading and commenting 🙂
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Good tour of the complicated lives.
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Thank you, Sabio.
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