h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not far from where I live, there is a place where a stream flows under a little bridge. Sometimes in the summer, I've seen blue-winged damselfies there - I think they're banded demoiselles. I looked them up, found that they belong to the order odonata, which were perhaps the earliest creatures to fly, and came up with this poem.

DAMSELFLIES

A sudden dash though sunshine
a flash of iridescent blue,
damselflies chase and trail
loops of light across the stream.

Their eyes, black and round as berries,
watch aimless rise and fall of gnats
with multi-faceted precision.
At rest, their tracery of wings
intricate as stained-glass windows;

but even in lapis lazuli, plated
joints reveal a prehistoric past.
Do they hear echoes of an age
when they ruled among tall ferns?.

I like how you capture the 'flash and dash' of the damselflies' movements

I enjoyed a few minutes this summer in a nature reserve, when there were loads of tiny iridescent blue damselflies hovering around my feet. My tall companions couldn't see them because they were too far away, but for a few moments I felt like I was surrounded by glints of magic

Thanks

Love that last bit.

Thanks

Such a beautiful poem! I love the last two lines, the echoes of an age..

I don't think I've ever seen a damselfly. Or maybe I have, without realising..

You might have confused them with dragonflies.