Coral polyps, like ashen fingers raised
in passing of a season gone too soon,
whiten as our politicians betray
both the Wangan and Jagalingou’s ways –
a gesture of ecological doom.
Coral polyps, their ashen fingers raised
trace the fine print of legislative phrase
revealing truths that we mustn’t impugn,
whiten as the politicians betray
our children’s future and reef as it weighs
heavy on the tide of rhetoric strewn.
Coral polyps with ashen fingers raised
conduct the coda of coal’s song of praise,
notes drift like silt over cities immune
that blacken as our politics betray.
In the North, as the island palm trees sway,
divers map bleached reef like marble hewn –
coral polyps, like ashen fingers raised,
whiten as our politicians betray.