Something tells me you could chart the path of a heart
the way a peacock raises flowers like too many moons.
I saw our peacock in full bloom today and noticed the eyes
in his feathers expanding like the universe; a quick shudder
of his plume suggesting no boundaries to his aspirations.
The light created a halo of iridescence shimmering, azure colors
in a constant flux across a visible spectrum. I am struck by how
assured we all are in these times, how quick to flash with knowledge
when stars overhead suggest uncharted territory and a call
to humility. Yes, even as assured beauty can feel like a reasonable answer
to a world of brutality and cynism, something in the peacock’s
showy brilliance suggests a seed of difficult truth unfolding. The risk
that what we love can all too soon and quickly be taken away, makes us pause
and shudder in answer with our own feathers. But perhaps questions unfurling
as Fibonacci have more worth than answers hung proudly like flags on a pole.
Laura Parker Roerden is the founding director of Ocean Matters and the former managing editor of Educators for Social Responsibility and New Designs for Youth Development. She serves on the boards of Women Working for Oceans (W20) and Earth, Ltd.
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