Bigger Picture Gossip

The parrot fish, born female,
presto, (sequential hermaphroditism!)
becomes male. But that
ain’t nothing, Have you heard
about the nudibranch
(chromodoris reticulata)?
All have both sex organs.
Presto! Simultaneous penetration.
Then both shed the penis for a rest
until the new model grows.

Have I got your attention?
What about the body wisdom
of octopus and dolphin females,
who like nudibranch (but unlike humans),
can store the sperm until she chooses
when to fertilize.
Heck, our own dear garden snails
don’t need to mate at all.
In order to reproduce,
they simply self-fertilize.

Makes me think of the
Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness,
when scientists in 2012
admitted humans aren’t the only ones—
that all birds and mammals,
and other creatures too,
are truly beings with consciousness.
Doesn’t it make you wonder
if maybe we need to get
with a really bigger picture?

In the bigger picture
we may not be as smart as snails.
And a healthy dose of humility
on the part of every one of us
might unite our very own species,
and help us consciously cooperate
with all the nonhuman beings
on the teensy blue ball we all call home,
spinning so miniature and lovely
in the expanding vastness of space.

©Susa Silvermarie 2022

fyi This YA novel is an excellent read.