Rainy Day Healing

Poem, 11 November 2019, medhumchat.com:

Starfish by Mary Oliver

In the sea rocks,

in the stone pockets

under the tide’s lip,

in water dense as blindness

they slid

like sponges,

like too many thumbs.

I knew this, and what I wanted

was to draw my hands back

from the water – what I wanted

was to be willing

to be afraid.

But I stayed there,

I crouched on the stone wall

while the sea poured its harsh song

through the sluices,

while I waited for the gritty lightning

of their touch, while I stared

down through the tide’s leaving

where sometimes I could see them –

their stubborn flesh

lounging on my knuckles.

What good does it do

to lie all day in the sun

loving what is easy?

It never grew easy,

but at last I grew peaceful:

all summer

my fear diminished

as they bloomed through the water

like flowers, like flecks

of an uncertain dream,

while I lay on the rocks, reaching

into the darkness, learning

little by little to love

our only world.

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The sea star, commonly known as the starfish, radiates its arms around its central opening, which is its mouth. In shallow marine reef water, it soaks up the rays of the sun. It has five eyes, five (or more) appendages – stubby or long and thin. It is the star of the sea.

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ADVICE: It may be a time for you to open yourself to infinite possibilities – beyond your wildest imagination. Open your heart and eyes to what the world has for you. Miraculous potential is shining on you now. Stretch yourself beyond the familiar. Learn something new, go somewhere new, eat something new, talk to someone new. The world is open to you. Reach out.

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“When whales want to make a wish, they wish upon a starfish.” – Anthony T. Hincks

Sea Star:

Starfish

Marine Invertebrate

Echinoderm

Asteroidea class

Usually 5 ‘arms’

It has 5 eyes

Seabed

All the world’s oceans