last stanza brilliant
Just to make sure I'm not being misunderstood ...
While I am not thrilled with the exact wording of the last line of Mayflies, I am hugely fond of the last stanza and the meaning it conveys. For me, it reflects the sentiment of religious scholar Thomas Berry, who wrote the book "Dream of the Earth." In it, he proposes that we humans have sprung out of the evolutionary process as a vehicle for nature (or creation) to witness and appreciate itself.
While many of us feel estranged or separated from nature, it is important to realize this is an illusion, a cultural misunderstanding of sorts. No matter what we think or do, we are "of nature," made completely of the stuff of nature and hence are fully connected, under all circumstances. Wilbur addresses this beautifully in the last stanza by acknowledging a feeling of separateness and then shedding that feeling in favor of accepting the role of witness, of being the eyes and ears of creation appreciating itself. Or at least that's what I think he's saying.
In my world, this is an important, perhaps even revolutionary, idea that is central to my life's work.
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