If my noble island should slowly drown
In the rising seas of the turquoise sink,
Remember Guam’s days before she swirls down,
Trapped in too much warmth: disaster’s brink.
I listen, keen for sacred chants of old:
Audacious winds carry tale after tale.
Sailors dared the ocean’s fickle threshold
In hand-carved canoes with a lateen sail.
I ask the fading stars in night’s veil why
Young dreamers pack up their talents and leave.
Can’t they give our island home one more try?
In long vacant spaces, the elders grieve.
Yet, despite the chaos, Guam won’t retreat.
Till the last rain, her stubborn heart will beat..
Catherine Payne is a writer born and raised on Guam, an island in Micronesia in the Pacific Ocean. Living on Guam, she dreams under the same stars that her ancestors did. She believes that poems are like campfires that beckon people to gather around for illumination and warmth. Connect with her @cathyapayne on Instagram.