Aimee Nezhukumatathil - World of Wonders

WORLD OF WONDERS

WORLD OF WONDERS

In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL

with illustrations by

FUMI MINI NAKAMURA

MILKWEED EDITIONS

2020, Text by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher: Milkweed Editions, 1011 Washington Avenue South,

Suite 300, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55415.

(800) 520-6455

milkweed.org

Published 2020 by Milkweed Editions

Printed in Canada

Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker

Cover and interior illustrations by Fumi Mini Nakamura

20 21 22 23 24 5 4 3 2 1

First Edition

Milkweed Editions, an independent nonprofit publisher, gratefully acknowledges sustaining support from the Alan B. Slifka oundation and its president, Riva Ariella Ritvo-Slifka; the Ballard Spahr oundation; Copper Nickel; the McKnight Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the National Poetry Series; the Target Foundation; and other generous contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals. Also, this activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund. For a full listing of Milkweed Editions supporters, please visit milkweed.org.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Nezhukumatathil, Aimee, author.

Title: World of wonders : in praise of whale sharks, fireflies, and othe astonishments / Aimee Nezhukumatathil.

Description: First edition. | Minneapolis : Milkweed Editions, 2020. Summary: From beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of nonfiction-a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us-

Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020010522 (print) | LCCN 2020010523 (ebook) | ISBN 9781571313652 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781571319593 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Animals--Anecdotes.

Classific tion: LCC QL791 .N425 2020 (print) | LCC QL791 (ebook) | DDC

590--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010522

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020010523

Milkweed Editions is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to align our book production practices with this principle, and to reduce the impact of our operations in the environment. We are a member of the Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of publishers, manu acturers, and authors working to protect the worlds endangered forests and conserve natural resources. World of Wonders was printed on acid-free 100% postconsumer-waste paper by Friesens Corporation.

For my parents
Paz and Mathew, my first wonders

CONTENTS

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE

WORLD OF WONDERS

CATALPA TREE

Catalpa speciosa

A catalpa can give two brown girls in western Kansas a green umbrella from the sun. Dont get too dark, too dark, our mother would remind us as we ambled out into the relentless midwestern light. Every day after school, the bus dropped me and my younger sister off at Larned State Hospital, and every day, our classmates stared at us as the bus pulled away. Id unlock the door to the doctors quarters with a key tied to my yarn necklace and wed go inside, fix ourselves snacks, and finish worksheets on fractions or spelling. Wed wait till our mom called to say we could meet her in her office, a call that meant she was about ten minutes away from being done for the day. Wed click off the TV and scramble to get our plastic jelly sandals on for the block-long walk to the hospitals administration building. Catalpa trees dotted the wide prairie grounds and watched over us as we made our way to Moms office. My sister and I knew not to go anywhere near the fence line of the patients residence because they sometimes were given basketball privileges outside, behind three layers of barbed wire. But occasionally I allowed myself to look at them when I rode my maroon three-speed bike, and sometimes an inmate would wave as I passed.

Catalpas stand as one of the largest deciduous trees at almost sixty feet tall, and dangle long bean pods and flat seeds with wings to help them fly. These bean pods inspire some to call the catalpa cigar tree, trumpet creeper, or catawba. Catalpa trees can help you record the wind as it claps their giant heart-shaped leaves togetherleaves with spit curls, not unlike a naughty boy from a fifties movie, whose first drag race ends in defeat and spilled milkshakes. But these leaves can make a right riot of applause on a particularly breezy day. A catalpa planted too close to a house is a calamity just waiting to happen, but perhaps some people think the danger isnt too menacing since catalpas also yield good tone wood for guitars. And who would challenge that song out there on the plains?

All those songs call out to the sphinx moth, who lays about five hundred half-millimeter eggs at a time on the catalpas leaves. These leaves are the moths only source of food, and if left unchecked, the caterpillars can completely defoliate a single mighty tree. Kids in the Central Plains know these worms as good spending money. The sphinx caterpillars (also known as catfish candy) make prized fishing bait; catfish and bluegill gobble them without seeming to get the least bit suspicious about their sudden appearance in the water.

Sometimes, before we left to pick up our mom, my sister and I gathered coins for the vending machine in the lobby of her office. In 1986, a Little Debbie brownie cost a precious thirty-five centsprecious because what little allowance we received was inconsistent, and so we couldnt count on it for gummy bracelets stacked up my arm in imitation of Madonna, or for the occasional ninety-nine-cent ice cream sandwich at Dairy Queen, or to save up for another colorful pair of jelly sandals. We were known as the daughters of the new doctor in that sleepy little county, but my mom made sure we werent spoiled, unlike most of her coworkers kidschildren who had six or seven pairs of the latest hightops, or were already talking about what luxury sports car would be their first. Extravagance, then, was the occasional afternoon when my sister and I found just enough to split a brownie between us.

After greeting the receptionist, riding the elevator up a few stories, and walking past the patients pool tables and lounge, wed greet our mother with bits of chocolate in our smiles. Cavities, cavities! shed cluck at us, dropping whatever she was doing to hug and kiss us hello. I only pieced it together years laterhow her day was spent trying to help patients who often hurled racist taunts and violent threats against her, like Get out of here, Chink, or Ill choke you with my own hands! I cant believe how she managed the microaggressions of families who told her that they couldnt understand her accent, who spoke loud and slow at her, like shethe valedictorian of her class, the first