1060. When the heat of the summer made drowsy the land, a dragonfly came and sat on my hand. ~Eleanor Farjeon

by

25

Clouds of insects danced and buzzed in the golden autumn light,
and the air was full of the piping of the song-birds.
Long,
glinting dragonflies shot across the path, or
hung tremulous with gauzy wings and gleaming bodies.
~Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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You are made of almost nothing
But of enough
To be great eyes
And diaphanous double wings;
To be ceaseless movement,
Unending hunger
Grappling love.
Link between water and air,
Earth repels you.
Light touches you only to shift into iridescence
Upon your body and wings.
Twice-born, predator,
You split into the heat.
Swift beyond calculation or capture
You dart into the shadow
Which consumes you.
You rocket into the day.
But at last, when the wind flattens the grasses,
For you, the design and purpose stop.
And you fall
With the other husks of summer.
~Louise Bogan

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Today I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.
An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.
He dried his wings: like gauze they grew;
Thro’ crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew.
~Alfred Lord Tennyson

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Curious dragonfly with
Wings of stained glass,
Oh, ancient bearer Of secret dreams,
Your delicate beauty
Keeps wonder in my heart.
~Grace Edwards

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Deep in the sun-drenched growths the dragonfly
hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.
~Dante Gabriel Rossetti

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Predating the dinosaur dragonflies have inhabited and flown the earth for 300 million years or more and the related damselflies for at least 250 million years. The difference between these two amazing insects is that damselflies are smaller, have slimmer bodies, and most of them, when resting, hold their wings along or above the body whereas dragonflies hold their wings flat and away from the body. Both species are found on all continents except Antartica., however because of the loss of wetland habitats their populations are currently being threatened all around the world.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. ~Excerpt from Genesis 1:31  ✝

**Images via Pinterest; collages created by Natalie

25 thoughts on “1060. When the heat of the summer made drowsy the land, a dragonfly came and sat on my hand. ~Eleanor Farjeon”

  2. I love the dragonflies and damselflies —I may have told you this before but when I was in the classroom, my Art I kids would start off with an insect unit—I’d pull all the bug books our media center contained and any I’d procured over the years—the kids were to pick an insect or multiples and create a 12 x 18 piece utilizing the various types of lines we’d been studying (there are officially 7 types of lines in the world of art, but I digress) The entire sheet had to be utilized as many beginning students tend to be a bit hesitant and keep things way too tight and tiny—-some were tongue and cheek—like the house fly knocking on a house only to have the residents bugs peeking out the windows—or the simply beautiful pen and ink studies of the hyper details of the wings—the dragonflies were my favorites—one even depicted a “fire breathing” dragonfly—-I for one loved to draw them because of the wings—that beautiful detail—–can’t wait for my summer friends to return!

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    • I’ll bet you are a good little artist too! One of my student’s the first year I taught was always drawing things and he made beautiful drawings just using dots of ink. I still have some of them framed and hanging in my home. I adore dragonflies and damselflies. I’ve started seeing some in my yard since I bought my two little electric fountains and I’m looking forward to their return here too. Love and hugs, N 🙂 ❤

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    • Oh, they are awesome and their wings are so stunning! I don’t think they are in danger of extinction just yet, but the are threatened by the loss of wetlands. It will break my heart if they should ever disappear. And as always what it means for planet earth Staci is one more imbalance in the whole of Creation. Love, N 🙂 ❤

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    • Why thank you. Everybody’s creative endeavors are different. I always wanted to be an artist but I don’t have the talent to paint or draw. But I have an eye for beauty and can take pretty good photos and/or find them on Pinterest. I always edit even the photos I find there trying to get them as sharp as possible. I love poetry and would love to be talented enough to write my own. So again I borrow from other writers. Then I put all the pieces together like a puzzle and come up with my own kind of art.
      I’m so glad you enjoyed my efforts. Hugs, N 🙂 ❤

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