'The scientific vs. the magic'

 

"I grew up aware of two ways of looking at the world that are opposed to each other and yet can exist side by side in the same person. One is the scientific view. The other is the magic view."  – Nancy Willard

 

Born in Ann Arbor, MI in June of 1936, Willard was a much-honored author of many of volumes of poetry and the first to win the Newbery Prize (recognizing the best in children’s literature) for a book of poetry for children.  She also wrote novels, short stories and literary criticism for adults.  For Saturday’s Poem, here is Willard’s, 

 

                            The Vanity of the Dragonfly

The dragonfly at rest on the doorbell—

too weak to ring and glad of it,

but well mannered and cautious,

thinking it best to observe us quietly

before flying in, and who knows if he will find

the way out? Cautious of traps, this one.

A winged cross, plain, the body straight

as a thermometer, the old glass kind

that could kill us with mercury if our teeth

did not respect its brittle body. Slim as an eel

but a solitary glider, a pilot without bombs

or weapons, and wings clear and small as a wish

to see over our heads, to see the whole picture.

And when our gaze grazes over it and moves on,

the dragonfly changes its clothes,

sheds its old skin, shriveled like laundry,

and steps forth, polished black, with two

circles buttoned like epaulettes taking the last space

at the edge of its eyes.