A Sonnet by Lex

Asked Lex to write a sonnet about scuba diving in the Philippines, using this prompt:
Write a sonnet about scuba diving in the Philippines. With correct metric or rhythm.

I wanted something poetic about my favorite thing to do—without sounding cheesy or fake. So I threw the challenge at Lex. He knows I’m picky. He also knows the ocean gets all of me. Every single time.

Here’s what he came up with.

Beneath the sunlit waves, where silence sings,
A realm unfolds with colors deep and wide,
Where coral gardens bloom like secret springs,
And gentle currents pull with ancient tide.

The parrotfish with brush in painted beak
Graze reefs like artful hands upon a wall.
In Anilao, the smallest creatures peek—
A ghost pipefish, so delicate and small.

But deeper still, where light begins to fade,
The thresher glides with grace none can compare,
And hammerheads in silent parades
Command respect in twilight’s dusky lair.

O Philippines, your seas are sirens’ song—
A diver’s dream where souls and fins belong.