WEBVTT

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And now, to close,
Elizabeth, I'm sorry.

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I'll show you the
entomologist landscape.

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We have an entomologist--

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the queen of entomology here.

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You've all been very
kind, very patient.

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"Woodpecker."

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"On the day the poppies
burst their tight green fist

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in the gem and the geranium
bloomed all bloody red and ruby

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so the pileated
woodpecker returned.

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He ricocheted off
the pine trunk.

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Then, picking among yellow
bugs, spread quickly

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to the pea vines.

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Fat-breasted, he
drilled his name.

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Let it drip and trill round
the forest, down his throat.

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Landlord of the mountain.

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Mafioso in a tweed vest.

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Red-crested whale of the sky, he
announced the summer solstice.

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We ran to the window knowing
that last snow would melt

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on the bitter roots
to flood our fields,

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knowing it was time for Aurora
Borealis, heaven's beast,

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her tentacles flicking like
jellyfish on the shortest

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night of the year.

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We did the dance of the
woodpecker, the fat flicker,

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the pagan priest.

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When clover bloomed, salsify,
and wild roses, and we

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knew that winter
was over, we did

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the dance of the smart,
hard-headed, flashy creatures

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of the world.

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After all, in summer, when
blood is thick and dark

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as the flicker's crest,
when we might all

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fatten on berries
and weeds alone,

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isn't there room for each
of us, even the greedy ones?

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After all, have you never
wanted to drive at top speed

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to slam into a tree or dive
from a ledge or catch fire,

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slit your wrists, let
the fluids geyser?

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Not suicide, but it's burning.

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Not rage directed at humankind.

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No.

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The heart remains a
sweet berry and ripe.

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But red drives the
stickleback wild.

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Red small spots among the
green, among the brown rocks.

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And so on the long day of
the summer solstice when

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the world spins
silly with light,

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we do the dance
of the woodpecker,

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twirling our skirts
and mustaches,

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tapping our resonant branches,
our underwear flashing white

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as we shake the irregular
flags of our body

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into undulate raw flight."

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Thank you very much.

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Dance.

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