The Starfish Poem
Once upon a time, there was a wise man
who used to go the the ocean to do his writing.
He had a habit on walking on the beach
before he began his work.
One day he was walking along the shore.
As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure
moving like a dancer.
He smiled to himself to think of someone who would
dance to the day. So,
he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer,
he saw that it was a young man, but the young man wasn't dancing.
Instead, he was reaching down to the shore,
picking up something,
and, very gently, throwing it into the ocean.
As he approached, he called out,
"Good morning! What are you doing?"
The young man paused, looked up and replied,
"Throwing starfish into the ocean."
"I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"
"The sun is up and the tide is going out.
If I don't throw them in, they will die."
"But young man, don't you realize that
there are miles and miles of beach
with starfish all along it.
You can't possibly make a difference!"
The young man listened politely.
He then bent down, picked up another starfish
and threw it out into the sea,
past the breaking waves and said-
"It made a difference for that one."
-Author Unknown-