Victoria Anderson | “Summer’s Noble Species”
O the spotting and naming of summer’s notable species
the lesser the common the varied
but names cannot tame
the young male Ruby-throated hummingbird
who masquerades as female from spring to fall
or the smallest hummingbird
in the guise of a moth
or the largest moth the Death’s Head Hawthorne
who carries a skull-shaped pattern on his back
and drops wing dust when flying towards light
and while a moth is never a butterfly
butterflies arose within moths and were beautiful
.
no clubbed antennae or brown wings
just slender smooth abdomens never gorged
on night blooming plants
no gorging is for the moths and microbats
for the Greater Noctule bat believed
to catch and eat small birds in midair
much can be expected of those dark velvety
things whose forelimbs serve as wings
whose small teeth can bite a sleeping man
who might never feel the sting
who might wake convinced and chant
O false vampire big-eyed spear-nosed sucker-footed
O funnel-eared communal rooster
O large and naked O sacred summer bat
Listen to Victoria read “Summer’s Noble Species” here.
Published in The 2River Review.