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 based on Guam, an island close to the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. She joins other Pacific Islanders in efforts to raise awareness about the potential threat of deep-sea mining near the Mariana Trench. She is on Instagram at @cathyapayne