I hope you’re feeling better. Thank you for this post and poem; I’d read the poem, I am also reading Harrison’s complete poems, but have paused to read a small book of Maggie Smith’s, after the “Ghazals” section of Harrison’s.
I am going to take a day or two and think on my own obsessions. Sometimes I wonder if I have any, as I tend to flit around like that butterfly that eluded your lens…
Much better, thanks! (And thanks to Michèle.) Not to discourage you from finding a different obsession, but if you are a butterfly, I think that flitting around and taking an interest in all the good stuff coming your way — that’s as good an obsession as any, maybe better than most.
“the only honest, unselfish, indomitable hellcat in the history of conservation” -- wow. I’ll definitely have to check out Beloved Beasts and that chapter in particular, thanks!
Thanks for this discussion on obsessions. Just what I needed. My obsessions are few but lifelong and I am not sure if I want to add more or go even deeper... but am just glad others have obsessions of their own.
I am a huge proponent of obsessions — I think they help us find our truest selves? Good luck with yours, whichever direction you choose to go — it’s always difficult deciding isn’t it? I tend to go in 15 all at once, which isn’t always the best — and thanks for reading & commenting.
NATURAL WORLD
1.
The earth is almost round. The seas
are curved and hug the earth, both
ends are crowned with ice.
The great Blue Whale swims near
this ice, his heart is warm
and weighs two thousand pounds,
his tongue weighs twice as much;
he weighs one hundred fifty tons.
There are so few of him left
he often can't find a mate
he drags his six-foot sex
through icy waters,
flukes spread crashing.
His brain is large enough
for a man to sleep in.
2.
On Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania
thousands upon thousands
upon thousands of hawks in migration
have been slaughtered for pleasure.
Drawn north or south in spring and fall:
merlin and kestrel, peregrine, gyrfalcon,
marsh hawk, red-tailed, sharp-tailed,
sharp-shinned, Swainson's hawk,
golden eagle and osprey
slaughtered for pleasure.
I hope you’re feeling better. Thank you for this post and poem; I’d read the poem, I am also reading Harrison’s complete poems, but have paused to read a small book of Maggie Smith’s, after the “Ghazals” section of Harrison’s.
I am going to take a day or two and think on my own obsessions. Sometimes I wonder if I have any, as I tend to flit around like that butterfly that eluded your lens…
Much better, thanks! (And thanks to Michèle.) Not to discourage you from finding a different obsession, but if you are a butterfly, I think that flitting around and taking an interest in all the good stuff coming your way — that’s as good an obsession as any, maybe better than most.
You should read about this woman's obsession.
There's a great chapter on Rosalie Edge in Michelle Nijhuis's book Beloved Beasts.
She was a force to be reckoned with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalie_Edge
“the only honest, unselfish, indomitable hellcat in the history of conservation” -- wow. I’ll definitely have to check out Beloved Beasts and that chapter in particular, thanks!
Thanks for this discussion on obsessions. Just what I needed. My obsessions are few but lifelong and I am not sure if I want to add more or go even deeper... but am just glad others have obsessions of their own.
I am a huge proponent of obsessions — I think they help us find our truest selves? Good luck with yours, whichever direction you choose to go — it’s always difficult deciding isn’t it? I tend to go in 15 all at once, which isn’t always the best — and thanks for reading & commenting.