Dave Bonta's short poem starts with a strange, funny picture: a scallop described as "absurd for ears" and "delicate of heart." The creature is oddly sensitive, all nerves and tenderness inside a hard shell. When it hears an alarm, it claps shut, but the poem adds a sharp twist: it does so "only to go." The scallop's defense is also its way of leaving, and the line leaves open whether that means fleeing or dying.
The last two lines turn to the speaker. Blessing God while fearing "my candle going out" mixes gratitude with dread. The candle suggests a small, flickering life, easily put out. Judging by this image, the speaker sees their own fragility in the scallop: both are vulnerable, both startled by danger.
The mood is quiet, wry, and uneasy. The poem is playful on the surface, but underneath it holds a real anxiety about how thin the line is between living and vanishing, and a stubborn thankfulness anyway.