on furry fecundity

the first rat is dead...need i say more?

on the ponds

every year
the lilies
are so perfect
i can hardly believe

their lapped light crowding
the black,
mid-summer ponds.
nobody could count all of them --

the muskrats swimming
among the pads and the grasses
can reach out
their muscular arms and touch

only so many, they are that
rife and wild.
but what in this world
is perfect?

i bend closer and see
how this one is clearly lopsided --
and that one wears an orange blight --
and this one is a glossy cheek

half nibbled away --
and that one is a slumped purse
full of its own
unstoppable decay.

still, what i want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled --
to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world.
i want to believe i am looking

into the white fire of a great mystery.
i want to believe that the imperfections are nothing --
that the light is everything -- that it is more than the sum
of each flawed blossom rising and fading. and i do.

- mary oliver

on flies

persistent drones filter through stuffy air, draining into annoyed ears. armhairs are trampled and shoved aside without regard to private property rights. scratching and vain swatting begins, arms flailing without collaborating with eyes to ensure success. this daily battle with the promiscuous moroccan fly ensues nearly every minute of every hour. safety is not guaranteed within walls - it in fact exacerbates the problem as the hunting territory becomes much smaller and the target more accessible. its not uncommon to have 5-10 flies on one body in a single moment and the persistence they demonstrate is akin to that of moroccan men. for a fly to return to the same spot, say 20 times in a row, after being shaken off by the offended arm is normal, but causes unimaginable frustration to the offended. in a desperate attempt to stave off these daily attacks, people buy intimidating cans of poison that are liberally sprayed in the midst of people or over food. the alternative (my preference) consists of grass bundles that have long fronds you can wave around, acting as a cheerleader in the fight against flying disease. but my goal is to locate the fly swatter i spotted an elderly man sporting in a local village. cow tail with a vertebrae handle - appropriate technology at its best.