A lifespan of only six to fourteen days, ts short to begin with but, it appears that this individual didn't make it that long. It's interesting that I found this a bit sad but don't feel the same way upon seeing flies in spider webs.
Lines from Christina Rossetti's poem "All Flesh is Grass" came to mind.
"So brief a life, and then an endless life
Or endless death;
So brief a life, then endless peace or
strife;
Whoso considereth
How man but like a flower
Or shoot of grass
Blooms an hour,
May well sigh, 'Alas!'
So brief a life, and then an endless grief
Or endless joy;
So brief a life, then ruin or relief;
What solace, what annoy
Of Time needs dwelling on?
It is, it was,
It is done,
While we sigh, 'Alas!'
Have to agree that one hates to see this kind of scene. And those 19th C. Brits sure know how to talk about death and grief.
ReplyDeleteThey sure talked about it a lot and seemed very interested in death.
DeleteI saw a rather beat up Swallowtail just the other day, and it gave me the same feeling of sadness. They are such beautiful creatures! Very suitable poem... Through the eyes of a tortoise, our piddly little human lives are probably rather fleeting, too. ~Anna K
ReplyDeleteLifetimes are all a matter of perspective, aren't they?
DeletePoor ravaged creature. I saw one rather beat up at the Bellevue Botanical Garden last week, it does make you sad. Such a perfect poem to go with the image.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't we feel as bad for flies caught in webs? We like pretty things, I guess.
DeleteBut from the spider perspective, this was the equivalent of a huge banana split sundae with sparklers arriving at the table!
ReplyDeleteTo me it's sadder (?) when I read about butterflies or moths that don't eat -- they don't stay alive long enough to need sustenance.
You're right, the spider must have been thrilled but what to do with those inedible wings?
DeleteThat is sad, just got to fly and then boom, dead. A good lesson for us all to enjoy every moment.
I suppose we need to step back and meditate on the complexities of the cycle of life but it is indeed sad to see beauty lost in the embrace of one of nature's predators.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the butterfly was close to death anyway. Off to meditate...
DeleteAlas...
ReplyDeleteA perfect poem to go with this post. Life is all too fleeting!
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem to go with a melancholy photo. Butterfly did have a previous life as a caterpillar involving nonstop gorging on favorite food...that's something, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThat is something! I'm living that life now:)
DeleteAlas, poor butterfly. We knew you well, but not long enough.
ReplyDeleteSure was a fancy lunch for the spider.
DeleteAlas. So fleeting. This makes me even more positive that I shouldn't grow daylilies.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the fleeting beauty of a single daylily makes it even more precious.
DeleteYes, nature can be cruel. Do we celebrate the brief beauty or lament the loss of the magical winged creature? I saw a recently perished monarch in a parking lot the other day, and it made me sad. But I like Hoover Boo's perspective.
ReplyDeleteHoover Boo does have a good point as do you. Celebrating the brief beauty is a good thing.
DeleteI understand your questioning th sadness factor. I found a dead beetle in a spider’s web yesterday and all I felt was curiosity.
ReplyDeleteWhat makes a butterfly more beautiful or special than a beetle in our eye? Interesting indeed.
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