my current focus has been cecropia a
lovely moth now in its beginning stages
a botanist at my sister’s elderliving
establishment has glass jars set up with
unhatched eggs strings of pale pearls
and all the numerous hatches – tiny
black fuzzy worms long as a fingernail
busily munching box elder leaves a ledger
details progress: five instar stages they
split their skins keep gorging till at the
finale they are fat green long as your
pinkie finger they then spin cocoons sleep
all winter emerge as moths in spring to
start the cycle all over again the botanist
on holiday left my sister in charge so I’ve
helped pick leaves remove chewn greenery
nudge the wee beasties toward lusher fields
studied them with the convenient magnifier
was sorry to leave my sib almost sorrier to bid
farewell to the thriving tribe but this morn my
my sister phoned the first has split its skin! it’s
into instar two! thrill thrill! she promises pix
oh their poops are pepper-speckles lots and
lots I knew you’d not want this bit omitted
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2016.
