My friends are all dying. It used to be that you could find my friends swimming around, controlling the jellyfish population. Now, you can only see most of their funerals.

The evil things you call plastic, paper, metal, any material you can think of, are ending up in our homes. I see random objects floating around, and, sometimes, I think they are my friends. I swim closer and realize it is an enemy, this thing called litter.

Everywhere I look, I see litter. Your straws, your bottles, your plates. All of your leftovers are just pushed into the oceans. They are also pushed into the rivers and lakes where my friends are living. Let me just tell you: this is not okay.

My family and friends used to be plentiful. The ocean floor used to be nothing but sand and cultural diversity. The only things that blocked my view of the sky were occasional fish and boats passing by. I cannot say this is true anymore. All because of you and your disgraceful, two-legged friends.

One day, when I was little, I encountered a glistening clear item that had six holes of equal sizes. I thought it was a new type of seaweed. Suddenly, it engulfed me. I used all my energy to try to wiggle out. Two days, I was stuck. Two days of exerting all of my energy into attempting to get out of the plastic, ringed prison. My friends finally came to see me and helped me get out.

I have heard you say that you are doing your “best,” but I know you are not. Straws are not the most deadly thing. Good thinking on you humans for making more reusable straws, but there are still millions of straws out in the ocean. Moreover, straws are not the only thing killing us. Litter isn’t either.

Every day, the ocean gets murkier. Fewer plants are around. All of the populations are declining. I do not know what exactly you are trying to poison us with, but it is becoming a bad habit of yours.

During my daily swim, I look around. My population seems to be dwindling. Either there is a big sickness going around, or you are murdering our population. Based on the amount of chemicals making the water murkier, the latter seems to be the case here.

Even if you don’t realize it, you are hurting yourself. Soon, all of your ocean views will look more like dump views, your scuba diving trips will be just you and the sand, and your life will just be your life. The planet will be taken over by your kind. It is the human apocalypse.

Anything you don’t want, you give to us. You try to get us to do something with it because you have nothing better to do with it.

We don’t want your leftovers.

We are not your dump.

We want our home back.