for us
so much rests on them
resting upon the ocean’s surface—           
                                                        their silent gauzes seeking 
                     & capturing light

flimsy lung of  
        the currents
               cut carbons            cirrus             
                               sea creatures
                                                         synthesising every second breath

some gleam like
milk-toned jewels—
                                diatomic
                                each borne in unfair halves which cradle each 
                                                                           other tightly    but gently
                                                                                  enough 
tiny openings 
for growth & with growth    their glass coats shed
adolescently
                                                   onto the
                                                   ocean floor

some twist like                                    
whirling scourges
                           flicking themselves 
backwards
through the waters
                                        sucking out their surroundings like microscopic bats
                                        or filling life with life

others light up        
                 the seas & any unwise predators 
                                                              with blue-green glow
                                                     
our entire world of breath                                
                                   
                                  vast bodies 
                                                  worlds of the supple and minute      soft and softly
                       
                                                                                           floating