great barrier reef

I zipped on a wetsuit and chose a set
of flippers. I crouched for a weight belt.
Then sat to slip on a tank. I was on
the back of Passion of Paradise, a katmaran
out of Cairns. We were over the great
barrier reef. It was raining in Cairns,
but the sun was throwing pots of colour
on the water, turqouise to yellow to
black. We held our masks and fell into
the water. And breathed. And sank to
the parrot fish and schools of flourescent
fish and fish that turned sideways before
biting a dead thing and a turtle that
clawed away at an angle, straining its
grey throat. We pushed with our flippers
along the sponges and coral and stroked
a huge clam like the base of some heavy
lamp and its purple lips quivered. Later
we snorkelled around a barren sandbar
and as we climbed aboard it we were told
it wasnt sand at all but the milled remains
of coral after it has passed through the
parrot fish.