Making a Difference

A monk and his disciple walked--

Bundled up to try to stay warm--

Down to the nearby beach shortly

After they'd had a monstrous storm.

Thousands of starfish had been washed up

And now were stranded along the shore.

The two were deeply moved by the sight--

Something they'd never seen before.

The monk stooped down and picked up a starfish

That had been lying on the soft sand

And walked out into the water,

Holding the helpless being in his hand.

"With so many thousands of stranded starfish

Lying here on the shore in the sun,"

Asked the disciple, "can you make

A difference by saving only one?"

The monk gently placed the starfish

Into the water while nodding his head.

"Well, I think it makes a really

BIG difference to THAT one," he said.

-by Bob B (10-7-19)

°Based on a Zen anecdote (source unknown) retold here in verse.