Family Poems from Kids Sea Camp family dive vacations. This is a very special part of our Kids Sea Camp dive trips. Each family writes and reads a poem or a song at the end of every week at KSC. The Family poems night is a celebration of creativity, the ocean, family, and Kids Sea Camp.
Chris’s Poem (A Shout Out to Sam’s Crew)
My Man Marc, the mix-master of logistics
Jessie knows everything you want to know, including the statistics
Frenchy, his care was quite supér
Sharon laughing like a hyena with long blonde hair
Eve, she’s pretty hip, even with a big fat lip
Sergi, when he dives, he really knows how to let it rip
RD always got us where we wanted to go
Lulu expertly guided us way down below
Bell… who says Palau is my office every day
and Ray, who truly knows the Palaun way…
Thank you to SAM and the whole Sam’s Crew – you guys were awesome !
Susan’s Poem (haiku):
WWII wrecks, yeah?!
Destroyed the natural beauty
Thank you Palau Pledge
AYUDAME
A poem from mother earth to the human race…
Help me my children
I’m dying you see
There’s coal in the air
And plastic in the sea
I’m hot and I’m choking from all that you’ve done
To take a lesson from your book “go get me a gun”!
4 billion years in the making
(I know some get confused)
And here we are
You took all the land and covered it with tar.
You cut down the forests of mangroves and trees,
And little by little you brought life to its knees
My oceans are full
Of the crap you’ve put there.
I had filled them with fish but now they are bare.
You caught them by the billions
And some of them you ate
But from others you made oil and lipstick and fertilizer and pet food and vitamin supplements, and glue, and jewelry, and nail polish and sandpaper, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera
I gave you a brain that nothing can match
But what you have done with it has been sad to watch
Now I know there’s been cool stuff you invented like medicine and paint
Yea ok and the Avengers and Star Wars and Woody the Saint.
But you learned early on how to dig, and dig deep,
You came up with coal, oil and gas and
Enough money to make Solomon weep.
But the greenbacks have drawbacks
And now it’s apparent
that that stuff from the ground
Is an environmental accelerant
But the earth doesn’t care
Whether you make it or not
If you poison yourselves
It cares not a jot.
Life will go on, just in a different form but
The human race will no longer be the norm.
So now to Kids Sea Camp a shimmering light of
Hope and education to take forward the fight.
We’ve had lot’s of fun to be sure and seen amazing things
We’ve met many cool families (some of which can sing)
So thanks to Margo and Tom for making it so
But thank you to all the instructors and educators
Who play a huge role
In shaping young minds and preparing their hearts
For the struggle ahead by bearing witness
to both the beauty and destruction of all our surrounds.
Your final gifts, my dear human race
Your brains and your children
May be the last you will ever be given.
So listen well and hold fast.
Get your shit together or
You too, will soon be in the past.
ET3 Mitchell Ayer on CGC Bibb 1971-1974
The story I tell is true
About the finest cutter to sail the ocean blue
In the darkest days of World War II
In nineteen hundred and forty three
Wolfpacks of U-boats prowled Atlantic seas
Looking to send freighters to their doom
Sailors fearing the Nazi torpedo’s deadly boom
The ships gathered together in convoy groups
Surrounded by cutters to protect the troops
An evil U-boat torpedoed the freighter Mallory
Dumping men in waters icy
The cutter Bibb sped to their rescue
Before the cold waters turned the men blue
The convoy commander signaled “Come back, come back”
For I fear the wolfpack’s deadly attack
But the Bibb was skippered by Captain Raney
Who answered “Not turning back, no sirree”
There our boys in the sea
From the sunken ship the Mallory
The Bibb’s brave crew
Rescued a total of two hundred and two
Many years later I served on this warrior of the sea
And met the men of the Mallory
The old salts shook my hand saying
“Thank you, thank you for coming back for me”
The Bibb still serves in the Florida Keys
As a reef hotel in the deep blue seas
Her sister Duane sits by her side
As they still stand watch from tide to tide
ET3 Mitchell Ayer on CGC Bibb 1971-1974
Mitchell Ayer (copyright)
Lillyana McGowan
My first dive I saw a white fish with a brown stripe
I was so excited my heart took flight
We had so much fun sitting on the front of the boat
That’s when my heart began to float
When I first hit the sea floor I was amazed and all in wonder
With my ears popping away it took me a while to get under
When I laid down in bed, like the waves I was still rocking
I was like a boat not returning for docking
An urchin I spotted on my first night dive
I’ve never felt so new and alive
This experience has been so eye opening and amazing
Even at night in the pool I back float stargazing
In my passport I have my first stamp
Thank you everyone and Kids Sea Camp
Kai’s Poem
As we arrived at Oslob nobody could sit
When we hear we needed a briefing some people had fits
All of us jump into the water
Only a bathing suit needed it couldn’t be hotter
As we look down at the sandy reef
A whale shark emerges from beneath
Trying to keep up and stay away from the tail
So we can take cool photos and not get nailed
Diving down to take a cool pic
The shark doesn’t notice us as if we were ticks
All the bubbles no one can see
Holy crap there’s one under me
All you can do is swim around
And try not to get hit by 100,000 pounds
As you watch and observe the huge things eat
You realize they’re kind of neat
How can a whale so big eat something so small without a fuss
Then grow as big as a city bus
At last it’s been 30 minutes and it’s time to go
Everyone shouts woah I don’t think so
On the way back to the boat the last one comes up to say bye
And you truly see that to them your nothing bigger than a fly
As it descends into the deep
It leaves a great memory for you to keep
Diving at Night:
By James Gilmore
Stealthily hiding in the waving soft coral
A spotted moray looks for a bite
Then lithering along the sandy bottom
A sharptail eel slips away from sight
At last looking out from its daytime home
A Chain Moray comes out for the night
So many varieties of crustaceans to be seen
Some in abundance while others quite rare
Countless arrow crabs and banded coral shrimp curiously look on
With their antennae and tiny pincers ready, they stare
Ready to clean and take those pesky parasites away
Purple cleaner shrimp surprisingly came as a pair
Finally three new crabs seen on this adventure
Batwing crabs, a Hairy Clinging Crab and a Nimble Spray Crab make this trip hard to compare
As we look to end this literary torture
And hoping you forgive its writer for a few more lines
As there were too many things seen and not enough rhymes
A few more favorite moments together
That high five flyby in the dark
And finally the Avatar movie-like experience watching Ostracods
Performing their dance in the dark
All while diving at night!
Hello Gramma, hello Gramps
Hello Gramma Hello Gramps,
Here I am at Kids Sea Camp
Camp is very entertaining
I just wish they would provide us towels daily
Hello Gramma, Hello Gram
How is life with Instagram?
Here we unplug, leave the rat race
Wonder if non-diver activities will take place
I shouldn’t moan, don’t want to piss and moan
But cruise ship folks are rude
At least we have our separate food
Hello Grammy and Grampy,
My tummy feels a little crampy
Don’t Drink the water or so they tell me
What did I do to deserve dysentery
Instead of Woody we have Patric
Good thing is he’s fantastic
He excels at all his duties
Except for joining in karaoke
I shouldn’t groan, I really don’t want to piss and moan
But I can’t post any pics
At least i’ll get some from Patric
Well I guess I should be going
Dives are nice here, skills are growing
All the rest of my companions
Take each day in stride like champions
We’ve seen lots of pretty fishes
And the dive sites exceed our wishes
We’re so happy. Dear Grammy and Gramps
Please send us next year to Kids Sea Camp!
Lloyd Kaufman – Reflections
I look at the reflections in the mirror
A vision I have taken from the past
I can feel my heart growing nearer
To home
Early 2004 my bride and I
Took to the sea on our first dive adventure
A little one 4 years old
At home
Sold for life my partner and I
Traveled the Caribbean ocean when we could
While the family welcomed another
To home
As the years past the wife and I
Continued to frolic in the warm waters
While the little ones yearned for the same
From home
2010 arrives and the eldest
Takes to the quarries
For open water certification
At home
Luck would have and a little research too
A growing company of like minded folks
Offering underwater family adventure far
From home
Both boys took to the water like fish
Earning accolades from the family divers
And supplemental education
At home
At 18 and 14 and bride and I at midlife
Reflection is natural
Aided by many years of accessible photographs
On the road or at home
As we near the time where our boys
Start to leave, wonderment of preparedness
Abound and wonderment of returning
To home
Cliches notwithstanding I do have hope
That the adventures these young men
Have encountered along the way will bring fondness
Of their home
Kudos to kids sea camp and family divers
For being a willing participant in the journey
It’s not nearly done yet as we prepare for our journey
Back home.
St Lucia, Anse Chastenet, and Scuba St Lucia
Have earned our forth kids sea camp visit and 7th visit overall
Which easily makes it our second home away
From home
So thanks abound to kids sea camp
In hearing my reflections and aiding in the adventures
That our family will continue to enjoy
in our ocean
Home
Poem Hikeu by Saralyn Lehman
Open divers log
Then forget where I have been
Then remember again
Ellie
There was once a girl Ellie Bean
Who loved keeping the ocean floor clean
Mesh bag in her hand she finds trash in the sand
And the result is a reef that’s serene.
Abel
There was once a boy with blond hair
who could flip and swim with much flair
He flew down to St. Lucia
To learn how to Scuba
And became a master diver extraordinaire!
Gianni
There was once a diver named G
who loved to be upside down in the sea
She has fun with her friends
looks at fish like they’re gems
A child of Neptune is she
The forest is always greener
From the Kuppenheimer room.
If you can’t escape this heat then
You’ll end up inside a tomb.
Just look at the beach around you,
Put up a yellow flag
If Hayden steals that cocktail,
It’s gonna make him gag.
Uh oh
Where is j-t
Where is j-t
He’s not on the boat
And we gotta float
Where is j-t?
We’d like to thank Allie Gigi and Jay
For taking us diving every day
Creating lion fish kills
It was a thrillah
Under the sea.
Our certified PADI divers
Cooper, Macky, Maddie, Sav
Cuz now in the ocean blue
A PADI card they have.
Now the dads are getting old now
And they’re heads are getting bare.
OH QUICK look at that gage now
Oh crap I’m out of air.
UH OH
I have to pee
I have to pee
Grant is drinking
Darcy is sinking
Lime and honey!
I love the fishies in the bay
Kim is a vegan now NO WAY!
Bump it for Hayden
Cooper is playin
Where we can’t see.
The tea Macky’s spillin
The Latin is chillin
Grant has a girlfriend
He got her at church camp
The certs we have earned
The facts I have learned
Micronesia is smaller than nesia
The fish guy has fish
I ordered that dish
The ears have the pain
The sky has the rain
Keither and brad
To leave here is sad
It’s gazpacho time!
Thank you family
Thank you family
Brings up the past
The time goes by fast
Those dads were crazy!!
What do they got a shining star
We’ve got Bucknell’s own K-D-R
Turtles are hatching
Able is smashing
That’s why it’s coolah
Down in St.Lucia
Frat guys are meeting
Their hair is receding
Thank you familyyyyyyyyy
2017 Poems from Kids Sea Camp Philippines
Here are the poems from the summer weeks of Kids Sea Camp in the Philippines in 2017. Kids Sea Camp hosts a poetry presentations every Friday night at the closing celebration.
Dive it off
By the Geall family
I wake up at 6, to make sure I don’t miss,
my dive boat mmm, my dive boat mmm.
They may think I’m crazy, well they ain’t wrong baby,
crazy for Kids Sea Camp mmm, crazy for Kids Sea Camp.
So I keep diving can’t stop, won’t stop diving.
It’s like I got the ocean in my mind, saying it’s gonna be alright, cause the fish are gonna
swim, swim, swim, swim, swim, swim,
and the turtles are gonna flap, flap, flap, flap, flap, flap.
Yeah I’m just gonna — dive, dive, dive, dive, dive
I’m diving on my own diving, on my own got my friends here,
so I not alone, so I’m not alone,
that’s what they don’t know, mmm, and that’s they know mmm
(Chorus) I dive it off, I dive it off, I dive it off, I dive it off
Hey, Hey, Hey just think while you’ve been getting down and out,
about the Lionfish and the dirty, dirty crown of thrones of this world
You could’ve been getting down to 40 feet.
My old friend brought her new dive gear she’s like “Oh My Gosh”
I’m just gonna dive to the fella over there with the really good hair,
won’t you come on over now and we can dive, dive, dive.
(Chorus) I dive it off, I dive it off, I dive it off, I dive it off
Palau poems from the Kids Sea Camp week
Here are the poems from the Kids Sea Camp week. Kids Sea Camp has a poetry presentation every Friday night at the closing celebration.
Out of the blue
The Baylee Adair family
Out of the blue
Into the ocean
All so brand-new
Into more blue
Under the sea
Just me and you, feeling so free
Deeper into the ocean blue
To black to dark
Nothing here for me and you.
Then gliding through the blue, a Manta!
So real and so true, a Manta!
Now I’m here
Just me and you
Under the sea in the ocean blue.
Good night Palau
The McClure family
Goodnight Palau with your beautiful sea,
Goodnight to the divers, that’s you and that’s me.
Goodnight Milky Way with your white mud and day,
Goodnight to yet another wonderful day.
Goodnight little jellies in Jellyfish lake,
Goodnight birthday kids and chocolate cake.
Goodnight Blue Corner and the late flying there,
Goodnight to the sharks, and walls, oh so fair!
Goodnight Ulong Channel, away we all go!
Goodnight simple life, with its ebb and it’s flow.
Goodnight sing mermaids and your underwater flips,
Goodnight to our new friends — until our next trip.
Goodnight Sam’s, Frazier, Margo and Tom,
This trip to Palau has truly been the bomb.
Kids Sea Camp isn’t one color it’s a rainbow
The Sarin family
There’s red,
On the diver flag and fingernails.
On the roofs of boats, sunburnt kids,
Even on adults toes.
What’s here that’s blue?Every shade of blue in every drop of sea,
Curtains, bedspreads, sam’s boat tops.
Pools and fins and so much more!
Now the orange we shall explore!Orange clownfish and coral,
The pool barrier, if you go lighter.
There’s yellow to see,
sunshine and sand and a nudibranch baby.
Raisin cake we devour,
And straw baskets we wear,
It’s also green that’s filling the air!Green means nitrox and mangroves, grass mangroves
Grass necklaces and mats.
Mandarin fish,
Jellyfish Lake and turtles galore,
Now black that’s that.There are wetsuits and mantas and all sorts of gear,
And silver zippers, sharks and dolphins, and tanks.
And lastly, there’s gold in the hearts of everyone here.
Kids Sea Camp isn’t one color it’s a rainbow.
Finding our Scuba Sensei
The Quast & Jones family ( write about finding their scuba sensei in Palau.)
There once was a gray shark for Nantucket
Some Mandarin fish in a bucket,
Nudibranchs here, there and everywhere,
Giant sumo wrestler clans that bit me in the derriere.
Half moon, quarter moon, rastaman jellies,
Fourth of July feast that filled my belly.
You see we are here in Palau,
Where the best time to here is “right” now.
With all our friends from Kids Sea camp,
And our Scuba sensei Margo who is a true Sea camp Champ.
And though our time here is running down,
We are quite sure will be back in town.
Dreaming of fish
By The Abad Santos family (The Santos family have been to over six family weeks with Kids Sea Camp. They dream of fish every year.)
“I dream of fish”
I dream of fish that all swam by.
Of jacks and my napoleon wrasmer,
Of spiny urchins and anemones of giant clams and squid and stingless jellies.But the sharks came out at night,
How I dreamed that they would eat me,
But I soon learned they were nice,
]And they all became my friends.One more dive, another day another destiny,
another chance to test my buoyancy.
One more dive, another day at Kid Sea Camp
Oh, it’s the best,
I’m afraid it couldn’t lastOne more dive with Margo, Frazier Sven oh what a team,
With JC and Leon, oh what a dream.
One day more,
One more swim,
One more dive!