I always enjoy your meandering, attentiveness to life. Weaving in your own interior, contrasting and mirroring it to all you see/know, walking the fine line between metaphor and madness.:) I can wholly relate.
I love this essay. Your words transported me to your beach, to join you on your run, in your thinking. Thank you, Ren.
Your comment about wasps reminded me of a short film (4.5 minutes) UK naturalist Chris Packham made about wasps a few years ago - he adores them. Here's the link to watch: https://fb.watch/sdxORUnsMM/
This film helped me appreciate wasps a bit more - but...
Three weeks ago, I found a queen wasp hovering inside my garden shed, perhaps in the early stages of nest-building, less than a foot from my favourite writing bench. I remembered their acute sense of smell, placed a bowl of white vinegar in the shed, and thankfully she's decided to set up home elsewhere.
Chris's film has taught me to appreciate wasps more, but I still want a bit of distance!
Thank you for your kind words! And for the link! That was a fun little watch and I loved hearing someone say they love wasps! You're vinegar trick sounds good. I think I may try it. I think that they might be trying to nest in our balcony flooring.
Wow, Ren. "The wasp is a madwoman in a featureless room." It all comes together in this line, for me. I love essays that are really poems, and this is one of those, for me.
Collective shame stands out. Eradicated by the lack of moral and values the younger generations are taught... so where do we stand, what responsibilities do we take? I loved this read Ren. The thread going through about the wasp and finding a positive thing to say. Thought provoking! These beach walks, out of season, just have so much to offer.
Thank you for the kind words. I am referring to the collective shame of our entire species over time - specifically referencing WWII here, though. I find the younger generations to be very concerned with ethics - in terms of the earth, and one another. I think very little changes over time in terms of human behavior. Maybe perspectives are very much determined by cultural points of view regarding what shame actually is, and how it is directed? Now you have me thinking about generational trauma and generational shame... thank you for that.
I love this, and I loved the way you read it. I usually only listen to your poetry, because I have your talking voice in my head anyway. But today, I wanted to hear it. There is so much here to take in, to unwind, all those connections and whorls of shells and life and wasps and madness and women. "The wasp is a madwoman in a featureless room." So real, so obvious, but not until you said it.
I always enjoy your meandering, attentiveness to life. Weaving in your own interior, contrasting and mirroring it to all you see/know, walking the fine line between metaphor and madness.:) I can wholly relate.
Thank you so much, Kimberly. That means a lot. I've always figured I can't be alone in the leaping between our inner and outer worlds.
I love this essay. Your words transported me to your beach, to join you on your run, in your thinking. Thank you, Ren.
Your comment about wasps reminded me of a short film (4.5 minutes) UK naturalist Chris Packham made about wasps a few years ago - he adores them. Here's the link to watch: https://fb.watch/sdxORUnsMM/
This film helped me appreciate wasps a bit more - but...
Three weeks ago, I found a queen wasp hovering inside my garden shed, perhaps in the early stages of nest-building, less than a foot from my favourite writing bench. I remembered their acute sense of smell, placed a bowl of white vinegar in the shed, and thankfully she's decided to set up home elsewhere.
Chris's film has taught me to appreciate wasps more, but I still want a bit of distance!
Thank you for your kind words! And for the link! That was a fun little watch and I loved hearing someone say they love wasps! You're vinegar trick sounds good. I think I may try it. I think that they might be trying to nest in our balcony flooring.
Wow, Ren. "The wasp is a madwoman in a featureless room." It all comes together in this line, for me. I love essays that are really poems, and this is one of those, for me.
Thank you, Rita!
Collective shame stands out. Eradicated by the lack of moral and values the younger generations are taught... so where do we stand, what responsibilities do we take? I loved this read Ren. The thread going through about the wasp and finding a positive thing to say. Thought provoking! These beach walks, out of season, just have so much to offer.
Thank you for the kind words. I am referring to the collective shame of our entire species over time - specifically referencing WWII here, though. I find the younger generations to be very concerned with ethics - in terms of the earth, and one another. I think very little changes over time in terms of human behavior. Maybe perspectives are very much determined by cultural points of view regarding what shame actually is, and how it is directed? Now you have me thinking about generational trauma and generational shame... thank you for that.
I love this, and I loved the way you read it. I usually only listen to your poetry, because I have your talking voice in my head anyway. But today, I wanted to hear it. There is so much here to take in, to unwind, all those connections and whorls of shells and life and wasps and madness and women. "The wasp is a madwoman in a featureless room." So real, so obvious, but not until you said it.