by James Brush
Love may be found by soaking a piece of moss
in spring water. Love is short and plump
with four pairs of legs, each with four to eight claws
called discs. Love occurs from the Himalayas
to the deep sea, the polar regions to the equator.
Love can withstand temperatures just above
absolute zero to well above the boiling point
of water, pressures six times those found
on the bottom of the oceans, ionizing
radiation at doses hundreds of times the
lethal dose for humans, and the vacuum
of outer space. Love is water dwelling. As water
expands upon freezing, dehydration ensures love
won’t get ripped apart by the ice. Love can survive
in a desiccated state for 10 years. Over 1100 species
of love have been identified. Most species of love
are plant eaters, but some are predatory. Love is
ancient, dating from the Cambrian. Love may be
viewed under a low power microscope, making love
accessible to students and amateur scientists.
—
This is a response to Dave Bonta’s Facebook call to write a poem about the extremophile Tardigrade aka Water Bear. It’s in a similar vein to last week’s Desire/Tarantula Hawk replacement poem. This is kind of a fun exercise, and I wonder if I might keep doing this. Maybe come up with a field guide to the emotions or something like that. I used Wikipedia for my source material.
Desire emerges from the spider’s abdomen. Bright
rust-colored wings advertise desire’s ability
to deliver a powerful sting, described by experts
as blinding, fierce, and shockingly electric, it is
second only to the bullet ant. Desire is most active
in the daytime summer months. Desire flies low
along the ground. Desire’s long legs have hooked
claws for grappling with its victims. Desire feeds
on the flowers of milkweeds, soapberry and mesquite
trees. Very few animals can eat desire. One of the few
that can is the roadrunner. Many experts recommend
desire simply be left alone, but kids go for charismatic
emotions, and the beautiful, powerful and deadly
desire fits the bill nicely. When desire is encountered
do not make sudden rapid movements, but softly quietly
leave the area until it is gone. Head to the low country.
—
NaPoWriMo #12: Replacement | We Write Poems #208: Mythology
An interesting experiment from NaPoWriMo Day 12. The idea was to research something tangible, find some sentences and replace the tangible noun with something intangible. I researched tarantula hawks and replaced them with desire. I rewrote some of the sentences for transitions, brevity, and clarity. My sources were: Wikipedia, Mother Nature Network, About.com Pest Control, Insect Identification.org, and Durango Nature Studies.
In addition to the replacement prompt, I wanted something that felt somewhat mythic or that suggested mythic origins for the We Write Poem prompt on mythology.