Looking at Starfish

We spied Starfish near the government wharf yesterday. I went beneath the wharf to see if I could find more. According to The Natural History of Nova Scotia they live in the middle zone of rocky shore habitat, where they feed on barnacles and periwinkles.

Even on this foggy day the moving water is filled with light. The particular beauty of each stone is revealed as it absorbs and reflects the sky. The Starfish are luminous, as if they contained a tiny bit of celestial starlight though their home is here, in this hidden place between the tides.

The light-filled Starfish make me think of the Quakers' practice of holding someone in the Light. It is a kind of wordless prayer for another. I wonder if this is the secret task of the Starfish: to hold the galaxies in the Light.