The hole you see in this paper napkin was wholly (pun meant) predictable.  The story behind it and in front of it is not.  We think we know the world, but we barely can grasp it much less know it.  Living on a farm like we do,  every day reinforces the simple truth: complexity is unpredictable.  An unassuming assumption? Yes and no, but the poem that follows says, “I DUNNO.”  Consider the critter of complexity and scale that I call our daughter Lark.

 

For Our Daughter, Lark, Living in New Zealand

I found in my kitchen

a rhinocerous beetle

big as a silver dollar,

a gift from my cats.

It seemed inert

like a wound-down toy

but more detailed and fierce.

It still quivered a bit

so I wrapped it

in a paper towel

and brought it to the safety of my office…

then I forgot about it.

When I returned, it was gone.

Its mandibles had cut through

the paper towel home.

Why was I surprised?

Now I have a marauding,

pinching,

random critter,

unforeseen, but not unforeseeable:

complex systems

cannot be predicted,

but they can be lovely

and formidable.

 

HAPPIEST BIRTHDAY LARKY LAMB!!