Thursday, March 12, 2009

There was a child went forth every day,
And the first object he look'd upon, that object he became,
And that object became part of him for the day or a certain part of the day,
Or for many years or stretching cycles of years.

-WALT WHITMAN

The above poem (not included here in its entirety) is quoted at the beginning of Richard Louv's "Last Child in the Woods". I find myself thinking of my own childhood and reflecting on how my early days on this Earth still resonate within me.

I remember the innocent days of elementary school in that rose-colored way we adults do. Everything was simpler and brighter then. I can remember creating worlds in the little microcosm of my backyard. I'd often look up the spiders there, hanging steadfastly in the centers of their masterpieces - their elegantly constructed meal tickets. I can't remember when my fascination with spiders began, although, knowing me, it probably coincided with my discovery that my mom was terrified of them.

I do remember being aware of natural cycles though, although I would have been hard pressed to put a name to this concept. I would stand there in the backyard, anthropomorphizing away, pretending that the spiders dangled there unaware of the impending doom of Winter. I imagined that they were faced with an apocalypse of wind, cold, and rain, and that they faced it with human-like despair as, one by one, they succumbed. Even then I knew that many of the little creatures, those that last only a season or so, never get to see their second Spring. They don't get to see the big picture as we humans understand it. The advent of Winter does indeed come for them with an ominous thud of finality, leaving the webs hanging bare, glistening with moisture and tattered by the breeze.

Of course, I'm not so arrogant as to suppose that I can see the big picture myself. I'm working on it, as we all must, but the picture is bigger than all of us.

To this day I am still fascinated by spiders and by the changing of the seasons. Last night, I even had a conversation about spiders with a teacher up at camp. We talked about the personalities of Jumping spiders. I'm glad I'm not alone in my fascination.

I'm glad that I can share my fascinations with new generations.

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