I saw the spiders marching through the air, Swimming from tree to tree that mildewed day In latter August when the hay Came creaking to the barn. But where The wind is westerly, Where gnarled November makes the spiders fly Into the apparitions of the sky, They purpose nothing but their ease and die Urgently beating east to sunrise and the sea.
Interpretation
The quote describes the natural movements of spiders during late summer and reflects on the passage of time and life's transient nature.
In this quote, Robert Lowell beautifully illustrates the serene yet fleeting moments of nature, as spiders navigate through the air from tree to tree. The imagery evokes a sense of change with the passing seasons, particularly highlighting how the urgency of nature's creatures, like the spiders, mirrors our own struggles and the inevitable cycle of life and death. The mention of the westerly wind and the transition into winter serves as a metaphor for the larger journey of existence, urging us to reflect on how we approach life and our own mortality.
In practice
This quote can be used in a nature-themed presentation to emphasize the beauty and transience of life.
Pity the planet, all joy gone from this sweet volcanic cone; peace to our children when they fall in small war on the heel of small war--until the end of time to police the earth, a ghost orbiting forever lost in our monotonous sublime
The grass as bristly and stout as chives and me wondering when the ground will break and me wondering how anything fragile survives
Despite their lack of visual impact, headline sex-appeal, and their 'out of sight, out of mind' nature, we should all care about aquatic dead zones because we are all connected to their causes and we all feel their impacts.
Follow humbly wherever and to whatever abyss Nature leads, or you shall learn nothing.
I started following the news and seeing what was happening around the world with the polar ice caps melting and temperatures breaking records. I became concerned as an animal on this planet but also as a father.
In the end, the only heritage we have is our planet, and I have decided to go to the most pristine places on the planet and photograph them in the most honest way I know, with my point of view, and of course it is in black and white, because it is the only thing I know how to do.
Nature is not always tricked in holiday attire, but the same scene which yesterday breathed perfume and glittered as for the frolic of the nymphs, is overspread with melancholy today. Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.
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