In the Words of Another

I'm reading One Hundred Demons by Lynda Barry. Last night I went from the chapter "Missing Magic Lanterns," to "Cicadas."

An object... "Each with a magic lantern inside capable of conjuring worlds."

"The cicadas were whirring in the elms as they are whirring now. Their amber husks are everywhere. Brittle ghosts of creatures who call from the tree tops."

I found this cicada shell remarkably complete. I saved it for years. I sealed it for protection. And then, I cocooned it, and housed it, and gave it new wings.

In ancient mythologies, the Cicada represented resurrection, rebirth, immortality, spiritual realization and spiritual ecstasy, and was sacred to Apollo.