Crinoids Sonnet
A poem about “plants” that eat meat
This poem is part of the NaPoWriMo 2024 challenge to write a poem a day in April. This is the prompt for April 4.
Our (optional) prompt for the day challenges you to write a poem in which you take your title or some language/ideas from The Strangest Things in the World. First published in 1958, the book gives shortish descriptions of odd natural phenomena, and is notable for both its author’s turn of phrase and intermittently dubious facts.
Resembling plants, but are animals true,
Specialized creatures, colorful and bold,
In varying shades of red, green, purple, blue,
A vibrant display, their story unfolds.
The colors they bear, so vivid and bright,
Fleeting, fading in air's cruel embrace,
Saltwater's touch will keep their hues alight,
Freshwater or alcohol, dulls their grace.
Feeding on diatoms, tiny sea prey,
Paralyzing with a venom apace,
Their tentacles guide, their meals find their way,
A dance of life, in this watery space.
These ancient beings, survivors through time,
Attesting the natural world’s sublime.
Author’s Note
This sonnet was inspired by the natural phenomena called crinoids, sea animals that look like plants described in the section of the book The Strangest Things in the World titled, “Forests That Eat Meat.”
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