Sea Stars
Claire Scott
Sea stars regenerate arms
Torn by roaming predators
Snatched in surprise
They shed arms to avoid
Being swallowed whole
A form of self amputation
called autotomy.
We lose arms or desire
Or sense of worth or optimism
Parts missing forever
taken or sacrificed
for survival.
A false autotomy where phantom
limbs cry out from murky depths
tangled in tongues of seaweed
softly calling, softly weeping.
We scuttle along the ocean floor
crawling on three arms.
Torn by roaming predators
Snatched in surprise
They shed arms to avoid
Being swallowed whole
A form of self amputation
called autotomy.
We lose arms or desire
Or sense of worth or optimism
Parts missing forever
taken or sacrificed
for survival.
A false autotomy where phantom
limbs cry out from murky depths
tangled in tongues of seaweed
softly calling, softly weeping.
We scuttle along the ocean floor
crawling on three arms.
Listen to Claire read the poem here:
Working notes
I read about autotomy in a science article and was fascinated. Then I wondered what it would be like if humans could also regenerate lost limbs or lost parts. It didn’t seem possible, so I concluded with the line about crawling on three arms.
About the author
Claire Scott has an MA in Counseling Psychology and is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with a private practice in Berkeley, CA. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania. Claire is a published poet who has been reading and writing poetry for many years. She is a mother of two children, has two children by marriage and four grandchildren. She lives with her husband in Oakland, CA.