Sunday Seeds #7
We are not our possessions, but we are our gardens. Within and without, our story is told through what we nurture.
Wonder
Iāve long wanted to keep an ant farm. Specifically, with a local species that I can observe and likely release in time. Iāve thought this for years, but Iāve never wanted to capture a wild colony (because of the harm I would cause) and Iāve never found a solo queen after her mating flight. This year, I found a carpenter ant queen just sitting on my bathroom rug. I said, āoh, hello, I was hoping to meet you.ā She has since started her colony of sister-workers and is doing very well. Ants are fascinating and I find that I enjoy watching them do just about anything. I once heard a scientist describe individual ants as akin to cells in the body of the colony. I am enchanted by watching the endless, subtle business of a body so unlike mine, and yet unmistakably thriving here in our shared world.
Whimsy
Dragonflies have been around for about 300 million years. They have nearly 360 degrees of vision. And the one in this picture (below) was patient enough for me to get super-close with my phone and clip-on macro lens. I always feel silly in the best sort of way when I take that lens with me on a nature walk. Every time I do, I spend A LOT of time trying to be very still and inconspicuous, hoping to get close to bugs. I suppose that must be what a praying mantis feels like every day.
Writing Prompt
Try taking a very non-poetic form and making it poetic. Can a shopping list be poetic? What about instructions for a simple task or directions to a location? Think of how a list can become a narrative or how directions can tell you the character of the poemās speaker by what they emphasize (or donāt).
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