10/11/2026
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.
Mary Oliver, Starfish [excerpt]
Photo:
Composition of Different Types of Starfish by Toyoji Hikita (1882–1974) The Hokkaido University Museum