The Star Fish Poem - Social Studies

THE  STARFISH  POEM

Once upon a time, there was a wise man 

who used to go to the ocean 

to do his writing. 

He had a habit of 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 

and the young man wasn't dancing, 

but instead, he was reaching 

down to the shore, 

picking up something 

and very gently throwing it 

into the ocean. 

As he got closer he called out, 

"Good morning! What are you doing?" 

The young man paused, 

looked up, and replied, 

"Throwing starfish in the ocean." 

"I guess I should have asked, 

why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" 

"The sun is up and the tide is going out. 

And if I don't throw them in they'll die." 

"But, young man, don't you realize that 

there are miles and miles of beach 

and starfish all along it. 

You can't possibly make a difference!" 

The young man listened politely. 

Then bent down, picked up another starfish 

and threw it into the sea, 

past the breaking waves and said- 

"It made a difference for that one."

What is the meaning of this poem?
This poem is saying that we can make a difference even though what we do may be small. We may be able to change what we do but we can't always change what others do. Every little thing we do to help a problem can sometimes change the problem because every little thing helps. "It made a difference for that one," the young man said after the man on the beach asked why he was doing it. He knew that he wouldn't be able to save all of the starfish but he still said as he threw another out to sea "It made a difference for that one". What the young boy did may not have saved all of the starfish and solved the problem of them dying, but he was able to help some of them and he saved as many as he could. That is what really matters.