I wound myself in a white cocoon of singing,
All day long in the brook’s uneven bed,
Measuring out my soul in a mucous thread;
Dimly now the brook’s green bottom clinging,
Men behold me, a worm spun-out and dead,
Walled in an iron house of silky singing.
Nevertheless at length, O reedy shallows,
Not as a plodding nose to the slimy stem,
But as a brazen wing with a spangled hem,
Over the jewel-weed and the pink marshmallows,
Free of these and making a song of them,
I shall arise, and a song of the reedy shallows!
~ Edna St. Vincent Millay
(The Dragonfly, The Harp Weaver & Other Poems)
I think this poem takes more than one reading, and some thoughtful unpacking…
I will let you know what I come up with!
“Thoughtful unpacking” – I like that image, Jeff…
I first read this poem when I was a teenager and it has stuck with me all these years – I think I may have been a dragonfly in a past life…
Lovely poem – “on a brazen wing” – and picture.
On an unrelated note, I used to frequent a pub called The Brazen Head – allegedly the oldest such establishment in Dublin – or was it Ireland. (Along with the other claimants.)
Dating back to 1198! We have no buildings that old here! I just spent a few minutes exploring The Brazen Head’s fantastic website, officially Ireland’s oldest pub. And Van Morrison is a frequent visitor! Tim & I both have a few drops of Irish blood in us, so if we ever make it to Dublin I think we’ll be sure to spend some time there…
Hi Barbara,
Very deep poem, and a lovely picture, I didn’t realize dragonflies had such shiny colors, I never really took any notice of them before I guess. :0
Apparently 225 different species of dragonflies live in Texas alone, I can only imagine how many there are worldwide! Do you see any where you live? Most of them are iridescent in the sunlight…
Good gracious Barbara! I had no idea there were so many varieties of dragonfly in the world let alone Texas!
Rosie, I didn’t know either until last summer when I managed to get a picture of one! Did some research on them to write this post: http://ingebrita.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/talk-of-the-flower/
Finally finding some time to catch up on blog reading and it’s been a delight to savour the insightful poems and words matched to images this afternoon. The light within – a thought to carry with me for a while…
Thanks for sharing these gems, Barbara, and hope all is well with you!
Best wishes,
Julian
Thank you for your visit, Julian! I’m glad you enjoyed the words and pictures. Today I’m trying to catch up on blog reading, too, after a bout with sciatica which made sitting down at the computer next to impossible. Slowly healing and learning to be more careful… Hope to visit “Notes from Near and Far” and see what you’ve been up to soon!
I keep seeing dragonflies at the moment, they are so beautiful. I want to know their story. Thanks for commenting on my blog so I could find yours.
Welcome to “By the Sea,” Natalie! Dragonflies are enchanting to me, the best part of summer! I’m looking forward to visiting your blog again as I’m trying to get us over to a vegetarian diet and your recipes look so delicious!
Perfect photo for you Barbara. I’ve never read Edna St. Vincent Millay’s poetry. I like:
“I wound myself in a white cocoon of singing” and “Measuring out my soul in a mucous thread”
Thanks, Rosie! Perhaps you’ve come across one of her more familiar poems, “Afternoon on a Hill,” in the past? She could be very deep and very lighthearted, too.
I will be the gladdest thing
Under the sun!
I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one.
I will look at cliffs and clouds
With quiet eyes,
Watch the wind bow down the grass,
And the grass rise.
And when lights begin to show
Up from the town,
I will mark which must be mine,
And then start down!
Thank you for sharing this poem with me Barbara. I didn’t know it. It’s beautiful
“I will touch a hundred flowers
And not pick one”
I’m glad you’re feeling better. I think we all overdue it at our computers because we spend hours writing our own blogs and then have to spend more hours reading and commenting on others. Talking of which I wrote something for you in my blog (July 4th)
http://wp.me/pN0M1-LN
and I think you must have missed it…
Oh dear! Well, I’ve missed so much while down and out. Sorry I missed it! I’ll take a peek at your post right now! 🙂
That’s a lovely poem and photo of the eastern pondhawk, Barbara. “as a brazen wing” – so perfect for this! Thank you for linking to my post, too! I saw a female eastern pondhawk the other day – it was so big, I heard it before I saw it, and then she landed on my shoulder. As always, it’s wonderful to stop by your beautiful site.
Thank you and you’re welcome, too, Cait! Your dragonfly shots are stunning! What a fantastic experience, having such a lovely big iridescent dragonfly land on your shoulder… One of the things a dragonfly symbolizes is living in the moment. What a moment you had!
Thanks for sharing this. Beautiful poem and really beautiful picture. Dragonflies are amazing insects. I’ve gotten brave and have touched a few while they been resting. I find it fascinating to watch their bodies pulsate.
Thank you, Bobbi Jean. My daughter sent me an email a few days ago, from Costa Rica where she was vacationing with her fiancé, she said there swarms of dragonflies everywhere. It is so amazing to me that there are about 5000 different species of them in the world!