/SEA STARS/
The sky is Pink this morning and on the shore a whole host' of sea stars
I has been stranded.
I know from the charts the moon was full last night, the midnight tide
higher than usual. Were the skies clear? Were the stars out? I'd like to have
seen these creatures then: stars in the dark overhead and here a spiny
constellation draped over the rocks.
One of the largest, a northern sea star, now lies upside down in the
palm of my hand. Almost a foot across, its orangy body glistens wet in the
dawn light. Hundreds of slender tubes wriggle like antennae, only these
aren't sense organs; they're feet, and what they're searching for isn't food or
enemy or mate, but something to cling to, any firm surface that can anchor
them and end this futile flailing at the air.
Of its five arms, three remain, five or six inches long. I've read that most
sea stars lose their limbs to other sea stars' hunger. Traveling in slow-
motion swarms, the lead contingent feasts on oysters and clams, depleting
the supply for those in the rear, who resort to the nearest neighbor's arm.


Question :
REREAD lines 1-12. In your own words, explain the central idea of these lines.