The Extraordinary Ordinary
This morning, I read a post in a favorite blog called The Deep Middle. The poet/blogger and I have much in common, including a love of wild things and words. I too have written about naming, several times, and I must again today.
Until ten days, I did not know the word exuvia, although I must have seen it in an insect book and on Bugguide.net. My father once made earrings from cicada cases, but we never called them what they are: exuviae. Now that I have seen dragonflies emerge, I own the word and the concept of transformation.
I might say that what I saw was remarkable. But I won't because it isn't. Emergence is common, and I have walked past these common occurrences for years without having noted them. Never again now, however.
Once seen, I do not forget. How could I?
Until ten days, I did not know the word exuvia, although I must have seen it in an insect book and on Bugguide.net. My father once made earrings from cicada cases, but we never called them what they are: exuviae. Now that I have seen dragonflies emerge, I own the word and the concept of transformation.
I might say that what I saw was remarkable. But I won't because it isn't. Emergence is common, and I have walked past these common occurrences for years without having noted them. Never again now, however.
Once seen, I do not forget. How could I?
1 comment:
Ooh, awesome photos and insight, Robley. I love your meditations on the world around us. One of the writers I learned from at Arizona was Alison Hawthorne-Deming. She was also so good at seeing the "wild" environs surrounding us. Go, lovely nature poets and writers!
Post a Comment