286 292
286
T H E T R A N S F O R M A T I O N O F T H E A R T H R O P O D S
(LONDON NATURAL HISTORY MUDSEUM)
1. THE INNER LAYERS OF THE ARTHROPOD’S OLD SKELETON ARE GRADUALLY ABSORBED WHILE A NEW
SKELETAL STRUCTURE IS TAKING FORM UNDERNEATH.
2. THE OLD SKELETON TEARS AND OPENS REVEALING THE NEW SKELETON.
3. AFTER IT CRAWLS OUTSIDE ITS OLD SKELETON, THE ARTHROPOD INHALES/SUCKS IN A LARGE QUANTITY
OF AIR OR WATER WHICH FORCES THE NEW SKELETON TO STRETCH BEFORE IT DRIES OUT AND HARDENS.
4. THE AIR OR WATER ARE EXPELLED LEAVING SPACE FOR THE ARTHROPOD TO GROW.
The shedding progressed quickly. Now, the head is free. The pro-
boscis, the front legs are gradually emerging from their casings.
The body is in a horizontal position, legs upwards. The wings are
predisposed to puff out. Still creased, they look like the curved
indents of an arc. Ten minutes are sufficient for this first phase
of the transformation. The second remains, whose duration is
longer. The insect is completely free, apart from the top of the
abdomen, always bound in its casing... With the old dress is held
by the top pf the abdomen... the Cicada turns along the vertical
axis, head down. It is a pale, green shade of yellow. The wings
straighten out, unfold, disengage from the flow of liquid that sur-
rounds them. This slow and delicate operation over, the Cica-
da with an almost imperceptible movement sets itself straight
again with a motion of the kidneys and assumes its normal posi-
tion, with the head up. The front legs are hanging from the emp-
ty carcass and, finally, the end part of the abdomen detaches
from its casing. The denuding has been completed. A bath in the
air and the warmth are necessary to strengthen and colour the
fragile creature. Hanging from its carcass by its nails, the Cicada
sways in the slightest breeze, still weak, still green. Eventually,
a blackening becomes visible and is soon complete.
THE C I CADA : THE TRANSFORMAT ION_
LA CIGALE: LA TRANS-
FORMATION JEAN- HENRI FABRE. SOUVENIRS ENTOMOLOGIQUES. V.XIV
Schinousa 14.07.12
BIRTHDAY
Do the wings itch as they sprout?
when from the opening in the abdomen
you first put out your head
and pushing painfully
you ejected yourself into the light
to let out your call
were your eyes open?
did you hear the words of those who held you
helping
the entire body in rotation
gathered with bent legs
the day warm?
A woman was giving birth
on the floor of her car.
Does all growth hurt, one wonders,
like the very first?
Does one not grow
at the same rate imperceptibly?
Or after periods of stasis
does motion suddenly claim you
and you proliferate and unbearably change?
Do you throw off yourself
the petals like a flower
sucking in the dew
of something old and then repeat?
Inhabited
by the terrors of the night
do you open your morning eyes
upside down on the world?
Have you garnered the stars holding them
in your hands scattering them
on the dirt, the sand
you now have grown
you tree
are able to shelter us in your sparse shade
as we grow lighter now, ever lighter.
RITES DE PASSAGE
how to pass from one season - to the next
One hour to the other
it is slow and tortuous and lasts
hence the rites of passage
all the pain
at once
all the fear
tearing between before and after.
You were crying; your children’s clothes
that are a tight fit
you were forced
to part with
so that you might afterwards
in your newborn body
fall in love