“Cycles Within Cycles”: A series of Haiku poems

 

Here is a set of Haiku poems. Haiku is a Japanese poetic style. Each stanza contains three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables each.

Fall

Clouds come rolling in;
as the sky begins to dim,
north winds bring a chill.

Leaves rise in the sky;
whirls of color flying by,
restless winds of change.

Trees bare branches stark;
frost condensing in the dark,
crystals of beauty.

Snow flies from the north;
as the length of day is waning
birds fly to the south.

Winter

Winter wonderland;
moonlit snow, aurora’s glow;
crisp cold of silence.

Cold, clear as starlight;
glinting crystals, twinkling lights,
catching full moonlight.

Timber wolves howling;
harmonies of ancient song,
rising yet falling.

Spring

Icy grip softens;
snow is sagging wet with slush,
melting streamlets rush.

Promise of sunlight;
rippling. melting signs of spring,
warm, longer daylight.

Thawing warmth quickens;
life rhythms corresponding
ancient cycles flowing.

Summer

Long warm hazy days,
shouting children run and play.
“Let’s go to the fair”.

Come look, there’s a snake,
evolution at its best.
No, its not a pest.

Graceful, masterful
swallow in perfected flight.
We watch in delight.

Metamorphosis

Chrysalis breaking;
a new form overtaking,
freed from confinement.

Metamorphosis:
Winged wonder soon will depart;
showing what it is.

Unsustainability

Dozers dueling earth;
plowing under, asunder
overturned plunder

Unsustainable:
weathered carcass of topsoil.
Irreclaimable.

Spirituality

A dawning new day;
multi-hued new morning light:
A changing of ways.

Philosophy

Potential Being;
pre-existent what could be,
brings forth existence.

Birth, death, cycles change;
elemental force being
everywhere the same.

Pre-destined free will,
potential is essential;
Existence becomes.

For more the the case for world unity see  http://onenessbecomesus.com. 

Monarch Butterfly Complete Metamorphosis Life Cycle Caterpillar, Larva, Chrysalis, Pupa Slide Show

 

 

This post is a little different than the normal writing blog. The main focus here is pictures. You know the old saying,”a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, in this case in particular, it is very true. Below are links to pictures showing in detail the transformation of a caterpillar to a chrysalis, and then, a chrysalis into a butterfly.

I have had a deep fascination with insects, especially Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) literally since kindergarten. Instead of playing “Cowboys and Indians” with the neighbor kids I was out in a nearby field poking around at all sorts of critters. However, it was always the mystery of the beauty and flight of the butterflies that deeply absorbed my attention.

It really was an all consuming passion. Early grade school years saw me collecting butterflies and then going to the college library to classify them. When it was possible to travel a little south of northern Minnesota it was challenging to see if I could find hybrids of white banded and red spotted purples. I thought about things like,” Female white morph sulpher butterflies are so common; why can’t I find any white males?” and so on.

One outcome of this rather eccentric childhood is the photos presented below.

Here are two sets of pictures of a monarch butterfly complete metamorphosis life cycle.

In the first set the entire metamorphosis, including the butterfly emerging from the chrysalis, was captured however, the slides are not the crisp quality of the set of digital images. They do a good job of getting the point across. Link here to a set showing metamorphosis taken with 35mm slides about forty years ago in Bemidji, Minnesota.

The digital photos show a nice sequence of the caterpillar to chrysalis transformation as well as showing the developing colors of the butterfly within the chrysalis prior to emergence. Sadly, I missed the actual butterfly emergence this time around. Click on the link to see the digital photos taken August 2007 in Richmond Kentucky.

For more on metamorphosis and a few facts about butterflies and other invertebrates go to http://lifecycle.onenessbecomesus.com There are more pictures, facts, and links to other related sites you should enjoy