{"id":156,"date":"2015-02-23T08:45:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-23T16:45:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/?p=156"},"modified":"2015-03-06T12:50:34","modified_gmt":"2015-03-06T20:50:34","slug":"poems-from-the-rainforest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/2015\/02\/23\/poems-from-the-rainforest\/","title":{"rendered":"Poems from the Rainforest"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Callan<\/a>
Callan holds a leaf-litter toad<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sitting on a damp tree trunk in the middle of the rainforest at 6 am or closing my eyes on a night canoe ride, life is around me. Stargazing with my peers on a wooden platform (without light pollution), magic is above me. Fluttering or clashing wings, crashing cascade of falling fruit, scampering of feet, leaf hitting leaf, the flowing rush of creek water as it mulls around the rocks, and water splashing against boots or fish slashing up and out to eat the dirt off said boots. Birds, monkeys, amphibians, and insects of all species competing for sound, but remaining in rhythm as if the jungle is one giant never-ending orchestra. I fall asleep to this lullaby and wake up to a new, yet familiar song.<\/p>\n

From a distance, the rainforest appears a consistent shade of green and brown. The decomposing leaves on the ground, the moss, the canopy, and every tree. Getting lost literally in the forest is easy with this mentality. But only when you relax and fully look around do you see the vibrant colors of birds, butterflies, bees, frogs, and flowers hidden within.<\/p>\n

I think that is what I had been missing in my life back home: honest music and color. Pausing to stop and listen. Pausing to look around. To see what I was previously ignorant of. To be distracted. To actually enjoy and appreciate beauty. And believing it is completely valid to run away screaming from the sight of an enormous bee the size of my palm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dragonfly hunter by trade<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Marching into battle, boots sinking in mud<\/p>\n

Net hung over right shoulder, body heavy with sleep, sweat, and blood<\/p>\n

Time is of essence and weather must be optimal not crud<\/p>\n

For\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The dragons do not come out unless provoked by promising safety and dry perch sites<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The dragons fly solo but in large congregations of clashing wings<\/p>\n

We watch behind tree trunks, palms, and other tall things<\/p>\n

Crouched beside a perched foul beast, I throw myself into a full swift swing<\/p>\n

For<\/p>\n

The dragons will not stay and will flee faster than the speed of light<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Empty net, yet again, at least that is until I hear a slight buzz resisting the material<\/p>\n

Captured the prisoner in my hand, ready to be marked, but then it bites my finger\u2026unbelievable<\/p>\n

This beast may have escaped, but it will be hunted again so I can mark its abdomen whole<\/p>\n

For<\/p>\n

The dragons remain in select areas and can be found at dawn or right before night<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Holding the net high above my head with steady determination<\/p>\n

Eyes scanning, searching, zoning in on a lone dragon in a rather stationary position<\/p>\n

I swing and almost miss, but fortunately the creature has the right motivation<\/p>\n

For<\/p>\n

The dragons sometimes simply do not resist and behave just right<\/p>\n

This being, with its black bar colored wings and striped abdomen tail,<\/p>\n

Does not bite and allows me to paint it combos of purple, blue, green, orange, or yellow without a fail<\/p>\n

A bright vibrant dragon looks like a brand new species among its fellow males and females<\/p>\n

For<\/p>\n

The marked dragons are easy to spot and could possibly be eaten faster later on in life<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sitting on a damp tree trunk in the middle of the rainforest at 6 am or closing my eyes on a night canoe ride, life is around me. Stargazing with my peers on a wooden platform (without light pollution), magic is above me. Fluttering or clashing wings, crashing cascade of falling fruit, scampering of feet, … Continue reading Poems from the Rainforest<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6,28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-callan","category-from-the-field","category-week-3"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":217,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156\/revisions\/217"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.lifesci.ucla.edu\/eeb-fbq-15w\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}