Mating Damselflies
Hmmm, did that glancing ray of sunlight wait for me to arrive to work its wonders?
A digital camera is a regular part of my gear when I go meandering through meadows, marshlands and forest edges in search of the winged wonders that I so admire. Photographing them is a simple exercise that is more about capturing the moment, so I can relive it later, than about taking great pictures.
My point-and-shoot Olympus does not normally capture the kind of detail that you see in the photo at the head of this post. A fleeting moment of the exact right lighting enabled it to outperform itself. I am so very glad that it did as I can now marvel at what would otherwise have escaped my notice.
The way the whiskery white barbs on the thick, rubbery stem of the weed endow it with a wise old grandfather quality as if it is the anointed patriarch of the field it inhabits…
The looping thread that circles the upper stem like a lifeline for tiny denizens of the meadow that chance to fall from some higher perch…
The decaying, shriveled leaf attached precariously to the looping thread as if that oh so fragile anchor is its last grasp on life…
The intersection of the weed stems which a slight flight of fancy could transform into the horns of a predatory beast trolling the undergrowth for unsuspecting victims…
The mating damselflies entwined in the shape of a heart, which is what I originally set out to capture, as they respond to the relentless call of nature to propagate a new generation…
And finally, the glancing ray of sunlight, which sought out this simple scene, giving it multiple dimensions of light and shade, and elevated it to another magnitude of grace…
Each of these vignettes within the larger scene – itself a masterpiece of natural artistry – is a metaphor for the so often undetected and unappreciated small scale magnificence of nature that hides in untold millions of tiny nooks and crannies .
I have trained my eye to seek out Mother Nature’s winged wonders. But every now and then, She reminds me that there is so much more to see if only I would pause, drop to my knees and recalibrate my perspective. Mating dragonflies entwined by the heart are only the beginning.
~ Michael Robert Dyet is the author of “Until the Deep Water Stills – An Internet-enhanced Novel” – double winner in the Reader Views Literary Awards 2009. Visit Michael’s website at www.mdyetmetaphor.com or the novel online companion at www.mdyetmetaphor.com/blog.
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Tags: damselflies · metaphor · Michael Robert Dyet · Nature · winged wondersNo Comments