(Chattering or quiet . . . reminiscent of another species?) When creating the video, I chose also to contrast
our pristine planet, as seen from space, with the scrambling life upon it. And, yes, if you sense a resemblance,
my painting of the millipede in the transparent sphere was inspired by the haunting globe image in Bosch’s
Garden of Earthly Delights.
-- Suzanne
"Earthworks"
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Earthworks
Staring from the moon
in dream,
I watched
small monkeys hopping
from close
cavities: faster,
slower, dragging
their thick brooms
over dry
sands . . .
but
in late evening
light,
beyond their hunched
& bickering
return
in one great
swarm, the planet
now grown
calm —
I saw
a single giant
millipede,
shell vibrant
mustard/black,
crawl out
from the moist
hollow
of its hidden
rock
to sweep
with silent feet
along the
moss
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“Earthworks” was
published in the Winter 2009 issue of the Notre Dame Review.
