The stench was overwhelming
as you entered into

bones, blubber, organs, gristle;
such a mess was left behind

when all peristalsis stopped—
you tried to rid yourself of

those indigestible plastic products
those islands of debris

covered in thick residues of shame;
while in the distance you heard laughter

and the explosion of cheap Chinese fireworks
littering the canvas of a perfect night sky.

A sperm whale was stranded and died on a beach in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides Islands on Nov 28, 2019. When scientists performed a necropsy on this beached sperm whale, they found that the animal had died with 220 lbs. of human trash in its stomach.