It was only one bird, I saw was missing from the sky.
And then I realised there was another missing that I could not deny.
Then,the flocks and gatherings I saw were missing from the coast.
Where had all the birds gone? That flight, that wing, that multitudinous host?

I saw the water washing clear upon the beaches of rock and sand.
I saw the water empty there, devoid of life it flushed the sparking strand.
There was one ragged crab as dead could be, it was wedged in a scaly crust.
Where once there were shellfish diverse and plentiful, now all were ground to dust.

Summer people walked and played in the waves, they paddled close to shore.
Unaware of the teeming life, that was there no more.
Where the water touched the land, the interface was sterile,
But one could still splash and be cool, with no inkling it was puerile.