The scope of topics touched on here at Salamander Candy is admittedly ill-defined. That was intentional, because we didn’t want to restrict our mental wanderings to one or a few conceptual landscapes. Yes, we are biologists and we therefore tend to geek out on sciency stuff. But there are lots of science-related web resources and we never hoped to compete with them as a source of information on hot topics or the latest news. We simply want to share our thoughts on what we think is interesting in this world (which sometimes includes events in our own lives, believe it or not).

After a long, bloody debate, we have agreed to occasionally include more creative elements in our writings. So without further rambling, I present a poem that I composed on a recent backpacking adventure in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness of the Washington Cascades:

A SPARK OF CLOCKWORK IRIDESCENCE

Papery flutter
of dragonfly wingbeats
as she stops, hovers
seemingly regards me
     then dashes downstream

I’ll bet that in her mind
inside that sapphire shell
there’s no hope of finding
any meaning
     and she doesn’t dwell
     on me

Her regard was only seeming

She is a subject
     —not an architect—
               of poetry