Dragonfly

"To-day I saw the dragon-fly
Come from the wells where he did lie.

"An inner impulse rent the veil
Of his old husk: from head to tail
Came out clear plates of sapphire mail.

"He dried his wings: like gauze they grew:
Thro' crofts and pastures wet with dew
A living flash of light he flew."


From the poem "The Two Voices", first published in 1842 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809 - 1892)


Tennyson wrote this poem after the death of his close friend Arthur Henry Hallam, also a poet. I recall working in the early 1980's with Tennyson's great-grandson Hallam Tennyson, who had been a radio producer for the BBC, on a documentary about a small community in west Bengal.  Hallam and his wife had lived and worked there for two years after they were married, helping to sink wells and build self-reliant communities. They spent several months living in Mahatma Ghandi's ashram, and were greatly influenced by his philosophy. I realise now that the name Hallam had become a traditional family name in honour of Alfred Tennyson's dear friend. Coincidentally, the street to the rear of Broadcasting House is called Hallam Street, also named after Arthur Henry Hallam. I remember Hallam Tennyson as a caring man, passionate about the programme he was making about his beloved Bengal. I was shocked to find that he was stabbed to death in his bed ten years ago at the age of 85.

As I didn't go to any places where real dragonflies flit about today, I had to make do exploring my new camera's aperture priority with the colourful design on a jute bag I bought a couple of weeks ago.