Arctic Solo Sail

There is a visitor to greet the CAP’T LEM in Oswego, NY as I tie the vessel to the waiting wall just below the locks.  He’s not the usual onlooker curious about the strange little sail boat come to their town, but a Dragonfly.  He has perched himself on the topping lift halyard.  I didn’t see him come aboard in my busyness and his stillness would have kept him hid were it not for his magnificent colors.  His eyes and they are hundreds as is the nature of insects, are a collective blue in contrast to the green strips of his body.  I’m dumbfounded by his beauty and by his size.  As bugs go he’s big!  I capture him… with my camera of course.  I would not hurt this creature for the entire world.  What if he were the last of his kind, the only one left to escape the ravages of pesticides, radiators and windshields?  No way would I even so much as bother him save for the camera in his face.  He does have a face, or I perceive it as such anyway.  There are the eyes and almost a nose and a mouth turned down in a frown of great wisdom.  He will live a lifetime in two month then be gone.  But now, he is CAP’T LEM’s guest-of-honor for these brief moments.  I’m smitten by his loveliness and look him over carefully.  His metamorphose must have been flawless so perfect are his stain glass wings and the posture of his abdomen.   I wonder if he grew to this size after emergence from his life as a nymph or did he come forth as he is now.   I know very little about insects and can only guess at the struggle he endured to cast off the old body to become the royal creature before me.  Now, here he is, totally unaware of his own beauty simply being what he was meant to be, a Dragonfly.

My thoughts run wild thinking the CAP’T LEM is much like a chrysalis to me.  It wraps me in warmth and safety in a harsh environment.  Perhaps there will be profound changes for me brought about by the struggles of the voyage.  I hope so.  If I think deeply and sail softly, the time alone spent in retrospect and contemplation will surely bring outlooks and attitudes such that my last days, like my guest’s, may yet be my best.    

 

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 18th, 2009 at 11:04 am and is filed under Lake Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.