A Fossilized Wonder © 08 Beryl Dyson

Softest creature, without a bone,
The sea or ocean once your home,
Until ice-age brought disaster,
And death became your final master.

Small creature, did you suffer fear,
Have sense of mind to see or hear,
Feel huger, pain or deep emotion
Hurtling through that ice commotion?

You had a sense, all of your own,
To clutch and hold this tiny stone;
On which your likeness now is cast
From elements of centuries past.

Star-shaped hollow, lace-like dot,
To find you languishing on this spot,
Preserved so long in soil and rain,
And wonder did you have a brain?

I hold you, pretty, fossilized creature,
Delighted by your natural feature,
And wonder when on earth you came,
Surely, no doubt, without a name.