Poem as Nature Walk Those aren’t scarlet berries on the willow leaves; they are parasitic wasps in camouflage. Pine trees prune themselves to get rid of branches that fail to find enough sunlight to survive. Bees see green as gray; flowers seem fluorescent. According to a study, Rush Limbaugh’s voice had disturbing effects on native beetles. Orographic clouds fill mountainous skies. When doing the erotic dance called lekking, male flies like being backlit; it’s dramatic. Birds risk their lives to sing, to be ecstatic. copyright 2022 by Bonnie Naradzay
Bio:
Bonnie Naradzay’s poems have appeared in AGNI, New Letters (pushcart nomination), RHINO, Kenyon Review Online, Tampa Review, Florida Review Online, EPOCH, Pinch (pushcart no0mination), Potomac Review, and others. Her essay on friendship was published in 2020 in the anthology, Deep Beauty. For many years she has convened poetry salons with homeless people and with residents of retirement communities in the Washington DC area.
30 for 30 is sponsored by Potomac Review
What a terrific series of specific surprising nature details. I love the matter-of-fact curiosity of tone and the way you’ve pared down the list of observations. Well, the last line does get poetic, of course! Oh and I wonder if we should give beetles the vote?