Nātūrālis vespārum

(The nature of Wasps)

 
Being born into privilege has its privileges – until they stop …

and thereafter, if unremitting illness becomes established,

it leads to life-altering multi-faceted effects that may be resistant to therapy.

That is a dictum that I recognized

long before being hit by a series of punishing events

that precipitated chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Is such knowledge helpful

in the years of struggle that can follow

the development of chronic conditions?

Possibly – for some …

and for others,

it might have the opposite impact.

There will be those for whom it simply blurs

into grindingly mundane and colorless life that they are resigned to living

while otherwise ‘doing the best that can be done in the circumstances’.

As I recall saying to a lawyer in the long-distant past,

“I won’t be a willing co-conspirator in my own annihilation”,

so substance abuse was not a real option for me.

Neither was turning to religion –

I remembered too much of my studies in comparative theology and ancient history

to invest emotionally in what might amount to little more than bad fantasy writings.

I think I responded by meeting the moment with the best I could muster

and on occasions, that was ‘poor performance’ …

after all, we all drop the ball sometimes.

Writing and translation, too, has emerged as an element of the response,

but it is not for everyone

and being mired in self-reflection can be counterproductive.

On a penultimate note, I thought it fun to mention

that bēowulf might be interpreted as ‘wasp-like’,

which in turn – in Latin – could be written as VESPASIANVS.

A Roman Emperor of that name from the 1st Century CE

was said to have been on a secret mission in the province of Judea

before he took the Roman throne after being supported by the Persian navy.

The Classic Syrian term

for such a ‘spy’

could be ܓܫܘܫ (gāšōš).

Finally, in closing, I will leave with, “δῠνᾰ́μεις ἡμεῖς είναι χρηστώ ᾱ̓μήν” …

in English, that might be taken as,

“Certainly our power and capacity is being good, kind and useful”.

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   Treasures from the Void

 

                                    (2023)

 

Treasures from the Void presents a range of

fiction, nonfiction and poetic works to delight

and uplift.

 

For this publication from Spirit of the Ages,

each work is accompanied by a specially

selected image from the author's own

collection. Illustrations are shown from

artists of various periods, including those

associated with the Golden Age of Illustration

and Medieval, Renaissance and fin de siècle

movements.