Saturday 10 August 2013

Day 386: Star of Starfish


One of the most fascinating and peculiar creatures on the planet has to be the starfish. What is their purpose? And why do they look both so strange and so lovely?

This poem does a great job of describing them in their entirety:


Starfish - John Wedgewood Clarke

Star of wonder, star of teeth,
Star of feet that breathe as they're squeezed,
Star with an eye at the end of each ray,
Star of zip-fastener undersides,

Star of childhood drowned in the sea,
Star in a white tray, under the knife,
Star of guts that come out to devour,
Star without centre, brain all over,

Star of Latin and death and spines,
Star of cuts slicing star from fish,
Star of labels digesting these innards
into star of wonder and function unknown.

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