The Starfish
By Elton Camp
Starfish in the ocean dwell
Without a brain they do well
With just a simple nerve net
For their needs are all set
They aren’t some lowly worm
But a symmetrical echinoderm
Equipped with a spiny skin
One taste and never again
Predators they need not fear
To them will now come near
Water into their madreporite
Make tube feet work just right
If they get into an oyster bed
Soon, many of them are dead
Oyster shell starfish separate
The contents slyly then ate
Males and females look the same
A mate they’ve no need to name
Both do the things they oughter
Shoot eggs and sperm into water
They will meet in the open sea
The next generation come to be
Offspring they give no care
But have plenty to spare
It could be easy for one to wish
A life as simple as the starfish