NAPOWRIMO #2

Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Prompt #2 - The Ol' Acronym Switcheroo

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REGIONAL WATER PARTNERSHIPS

God Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth,
separated the waters from the waters,
resting upon the final day of creation,
leaving subordinates to manage aquatic affairs.

The Southern Ocean was left to Leviathan—
the pale beast breaching, lifting his bulk out of the brine,
taking a quick glance about before slapping his armored scales
upon the surface of his realm, with a noble splash,
his flukes flashing momentarily in his signature departure—
tonight we will hunger for there is no fishing this day.

The Great River was left to Behemoth—
a sulfurous snort signals her arrival near the muddy shore,
where she manages to lumber her weight a few feet onto land,
snapping her claptrap jaws onto the closest vegetation,
trying to turn her massive head from side to side in a swift survey—
tonight we will sit in soiled clothes for there is no laundry this day.

The lesser waters were left to lesser minions—
the swamps to the crocodilians, the streams to the biting turtles,
the warm and shallow tropical waters to colorful barbed fish,
the deeper seas to the sharks and rays and octopi,
the farthest fathoms to unknown phosphorescent monsters—
we are paralyzed for fortnight upon fortnight, immobile and waiting.

We sit upon tufts of grass, our monkey hands wrapped tight
around our sharpened sticks, these new tools we named spear.

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When I visited the Acronym Attic site and entered RWP as instructed, I looked through the list for something that could be bent toward the ocean. I found it in "Regional Water Partnerships" and waited for inspiration to strike. When it did, I used my RWP as the title and theme of the poem.