Deep Sea Musings

Out in the open Pacific, the water is

Deep blue from horizon to horizon

Two men climb into a bulky bathyscaphe

And start their slow descent

The brightness at the surface

Gradually fades to utter darkness

Sunlight cannot penetrate here

Three thousand feet down

Only gravity tells them

Which way is up

The blinding lights on their vessel

Shine out into nothingness

The light is swallowed whole

Crushed by the sheer weight

The empty sea bottom

Seems a lifeless desert plane

But they turn off their lights

And sit still

Listening

And watching

There!

A dim flash of blue light

There, then gone

The ghostly glow

Of bio-luminescence

Another flicker, then more

Slowly the dark comes to life

Strange creatures flutter and swirl

Trailing luminary threads

Bulbous bodies bobble about

Round glassy eyes magnifying

Sputtering shapes squirt jets

Of pulsing propulsion

Wavy tentacles wiggle and drift about

Like long, white Chinese noodles

Delicate, thin silver fish disappear

With color-changing camouflage

Gape-jawed predators with razor teeth

Dangle tantalizing glow-bait ahead

New species are marveled at and cataloged

Then it’s time to rise from their dream

Exploring The Deep Sea