Great reef, you stand, defying monstrous seas
Which roar in salute to your stubborn stance
Then sometimes in despair a sudden ease
To rest, gain strength, ominous ... uneasy trance.

And in your labyrinth below the foam
An endless myriad of creatures roam
Brightly arrayed sea life with wondrous hue
Just there, being, a lustrous brew

What would this island be without its rind?
Built bit by bit by nature’s endless toil
Preserving growth: that of an earthly kind
A wonderland of life bound in its soil

But Ho! A weakness in this crust is found
Decay brought on by mankind’s quest for pence
A noxious toxic outflow out of bounds
Resulting from wretched effervescence

Great reef you stood defying monstrous seas
Since life began you built your palisade
Yet in a decade mankind caused your fall
Coin for nature; unpoliced, unholy trade