Michelle Ivy Alwedo

By 2050 There Will Be More Plastic in the Sea than Fish

Without consent, the Atlantic licks the cliffs of Clare
with a hunger that startles the old fishermen
who once measured time in herring runs
but now mark it by how far the village graveyard has shrunk.

Their nets sag with the heaviness of things never meant to be caught;
plastic soda bottles, children’s outgrown crocs and clogs,
the stubborn silence of governments
who when they speak, do so in five-year plans
while the tide counts in minutes.

Beneath peat bogs, centuries of moss press
their slow, wet thumbs into the record books,
dissolving the ink of borders and deeds.

The farmers know: the land is learning to shrug.
Fences tilt like drunk men after a storm;
the wheat grows restless, its roots itching toward higher ground.

Even the crows have changed their language,
no longer scolding the present,
mourning a future already nesting in their throats.

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Michelle Ivy Alwedo is a Ugandan poet and writer whose work explores themes of migration, identity and contemporary culture. She holds a First-Class Honours MA in Creative Writing from the University of Limerick and a BA in International Business from Makerere University Business School. Her poetry has been published across journals in Africa, Europe and North America. She is currently developing her second manuscript while leading workshops on mental wellness, narrative reconstruction and cultural storytelling.