The Geometry of a Dragonfly

You don’t need to remember the names

Emperor

Yellow-winged darter

Banded pennant

Not necessary

Not even for extra credit

What you need to remember is the geometry

What it is exactly

That makes up

A dragonfly

To best illustrate this

I’ve given you a series

Of seventy-two page hand-outs

That touch upon

Merely glide against

The make-up

Of this insect

But if you want to skip the hand-out

And ace the exam

Just listen

To the following story:

When I was four years old

I caught a dragonfly in a jar

I’m not sure how I did this

Or who gave me the jar

But I remember it distinctly

My mother cut small slits

In the lid of the jar

So the dragonfly could breathe

And, because I was still concerned

We found an even bigger jar

To put it in

So it could have some room

To move around

There was a shelf above my bed

And that’s where I put the dragonfly

Before I went to sleep

Somehow I felt safer

Having it above me like that

When I woke up a few hours later

There was a man

Standing above my bed

He reached for me

At least, I thought he did

And I was going to scream

But I was so terrified

I just pulled the covers up over my head

Then I felt him reach for something above me

My dragonfly jar

I pulled the covers back down

And he was sitting in my open window

It was July

And the air smelled like an old radiator

The man was holding the jar

He a hat with a low brim

Covering his face

And a long brown jacket

And boots

Dirty boots

That looked like they’d just gone through a swamp

He stared at me

I stared back

Then he raised the jar over his head

And threw it down onto the floor

Instantly, the entire room

Was on fire

And the man fell backwards

Out the window

I don’t remember who pulled me out of the room

But my nightgown was black

And some of my hair

Had gotten singed

That was the worst of it though

If you don’t count the house

Which burned to the ground

 I remember standing outside

With a blanket wrapped around me

One from the firefighters

And I remember the jar hitting the floor

And the dragonfly being released into the air

And immediately turning into fire

That’s what happens when you contain something

You run the risk of it escaping

And becoming more

Than you thought it was

More than could be contained

Dragonflies are made out of fire

And other things

Things you can find in the handout

But all you really need to remember is this:

There are some things you can capture

And some you can’t

And it’s very important

To know which is which