A Rolling Moth Etymology

Abstract

A Rolling Moth Etymology Sylvia Legris (bio) 1 Flight and only flight is a delicately orchestratedirrational response to a moth.2 To unpack a fear of moths (mottephobia)is to open a pandora's voice box of rumor and legend.While performing an aria from Handel's Messiah,a moth flew into a soprano's mouth."I know that my Redeemer liveth," she sangeth, and fished the moth out.3 All breath stops for moths.To live within moth-spinning windows is to live under pupal arrest.To become unfettered from the tyranny of flutternecessitates deft intervention of pickle jar and pluck.4 Moth-eaten from the 14c.A nocturnal devouring.A hankering for knits on hangers.5 Nits, gnats, an etymon of moth is midge.A collision of no-see um and no escapin'.6 Also see maggot,the absurdity of flesh,the fragile feelers.7 The reciprocal duties of hospitality are not lost on a moth.Take the populous poplar, a popular host—the spotted tussock moth caterpillar feasts all seasonand where there were leaves leaves lace, a brocade of moonlight. [End Page 94] 8 Fall is to summer as pupa is to larva.Dormancy is the season between winter and willow.9 Ditto the calendar of moths.Buck moth after Juno.Half-wing and full Luna.10 Moth wings write the fingers with graphite.Unearthly grease DNAs the moth's release into night.Fool's gold dust-shimmer.The rust of decaying fabric.11 The original title of Virginia Woolf 's The Waves was The Moths.While moth-hunting is best done under a full moon,the illumination required to write a book of great worthis inversely proportional to that required to trap a moth. [End Page 95] Sylvia Legris sylvia legris is the author, most recently, of Garden Physic. The Principle of Rapid Peering is forthcoming in 2024. Copyright © 2023 Yale University