‘The Luna Moth, the Poet, and Philosopher’ by Phillip Whidden

“Carlotta Capuccino [in her article], ‘Plato’s Ion and the Ethics of Praise,’ takes the . . . view that poetry deploys ‘groundless praise’ and ‘promotes a dogmatic and passive style of life and thought,’ and so is ‘essentially incompatible with philosophy.’”
~ https://ndpr.nd.edu/news/plato-and-the-poets/

The pupa waits. Dogmatically it will
Become a Luna moth. It waits in sleep
Or something like a sleep. It waits, is still,
Or nearly still, its waiting patience deep.
Sometimes it makes a sound. Sometimes it moves
But mostly it is passive in its wait.
Full incarnation comes when it approves;
Emerges into beauty; finds the state
It meditated on in its cocoon.
It never had to think. The Luna spreads
Its perfect wings and if a coded rune
Is on each wing, a colored mystery sheds
__No logic, meaning, or direction for
____Our minds. We do not need to ask for more.

Phillip Whidden is a poet published in America, England, Scotland (and elsewhere) in book form, online, and in journals.  He has also had an article on Wilfred Owen’s “Dulce et Decorum est” published in The New Edinburgh Review. www.phillipwhidden.com