How to Shed a Cicada Shell

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How To Shed A Cicada Shell  

Crawl through the dark dirt 
and surface into the daylight. 
Don’t stop there.  
Climb the trunk of an oak 
and cling to the outermost ring.  

Grow still.  

The tree’s pulse seems glacial to you, 
coming from its deepest rings, 
an inner greenness slowly expanding. 
I have more time than you, says the tree, 
so go ahead and get on with it.  

Grow still.  

Then arch your back to split the shell,  
shed what no longer serves you, 
and feel for when to let go. 
You’ve got songs that can’t be sung 
so long as that husk still holds you down.  

Grow still. You grow still.

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IN THE PRESENCE OF AN ABSENCE - Closing reception this Thursday

My multimedia installation at Vulpes Bastille closes this week. If you’re free Thursday evening I’d love to see you.

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Image: Detail from A Monograph of Oriental Cicadidæ by William Lucas Distant, 1889