Great Moth Comes from His Papery Cage
Gone is the worm, that tunnel body. Gone is the mouth
that loved leaves and tomatoes.
Gone are the innumerable feet.
He is beautiful now, and shivers into the air
as if he has always known how,
who crawled and crawled, all summer.
He has wide wings, with a flare at the bottom.
The moon excites him. The heat of the night excites him.
But, where did the dance come from?
Surely not out of a simple winter's sleep.
Surely it's more than ambition, this new architecture!
What could it be, that does it?
Let me look closer, and a long time, the next time
I see green-blooded worm crawling and curling
hot day after hot day
among the leaves and the smooth, proud tomatoes.
Mary Oliver
10 comments:
His body is so thick. There are some pretty incredible moths out there which is a shame that the butterflies get all the glory.
Shamu, it is a shame. :(
Someday I hope to see a big, beautiful Luna Moth. They are so spectacular!
That is so neat! Although I am glad it isn't in my tomatoes.
How wonderful is this? VERY!
Beautiful - I really love insects of all kinds. Great PBS show last night on butterflies & moths.
ThreeCollie, yes, they can be quite voracious! ;0
Darla, I know they're a pest to most folks, but I sure do love them!
Susan, I was thinking of you when I was snapping the pictures. :)
Oh no, I toss your beauties to the chickens!
One man's pest is another gal's darling ... LOL!
What amazes me is how fast one of these can defoliate a tomato plant.
He's GREAT!!
I'm not sure Grandma Lorie would have agreed with your new friend.
She had no sense of humor about her tomatoes.
Speaking of the Luna Moth, I had one visit for several days the first summer that I lived here. What a beautiful creature! That was the one and only, but I still look for them.
Ooooh goodness, that green thing looks worrisome--what do it eat the most? But I love his green sheen--lovely.
(will send out a pkg next week.)
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