Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Microseason N⍛ 19, May 5-9

Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Johnston Mill Nature Preserve, photo by Ann Collins

In the grove where we walk,
Gall Gnat enters the slippery spathe,
Encircled.

Resistance, frangible,
Designed to shatter on impact,
Its softness,
 
Fine powder dissolving 
Into warm liquid (sweat or tears).   
A nectar

To nourish, sustain, drench
As taste becomes heightened, then honed.
A moment

Spreading warmly as a
Smile across a child's face, this joy
Insistent.

Try as we might, we cannot 
Alter the course of a Gall Gnat
Giving all

To this bright green goblet
Of mystery and bliss

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Dear One,

Just a quick note about this poem:

The May woods are filled with stories of survival and surrender. Life and death. And I always love seeing little Jack, Arisaema Triphyllum, preaching to the forest from his shady pulpit which is called a spathe. These plants have an aroma that attracts gall gnats, flies, and other insects who hope to lay eggs inside the beautiful green cup. This is so that their newly hatched offspring will have an immediate food source.

In young plants, there is an escape hole at the bottom of the spathe for the insects to exit after depositing eggs. However, in more mature plants, there is no door, and thus, gall gnats and flies are destined to die inside the spathe after unintentionally, but helpfully, pollinating the inner flower, or spadix.

I find these small ecological relationships so fascinating. I hope you do, too.

Also, if you’re one who loves to refresh your body, mind, and spirit in all the sensory delights of the natural world, you might want to join Lisa Jensen tomorrow, Saturday, May 9th. At 3:00 EST she will be leading an outdoor Zoom session as an introduction to the practice of “forest bathing” which is a relaxing way to walk in nature. I hope to go.

I hope you have a lovely weekend however you spend it.

xo Ann

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