Goin' Batty
He flits about me
To and fro
Seemingly erratic ~
But there is a beauty,
A hidden dance,
Of instinct and gracefulness
Of flight and fancy.
A mammal with the gift to soar
High above into the evening sky
In and out of the sun’s last rays
Into the darkened shadows of the night.
He skims the water of the pool
And takes off again
On his satiating quest
Disappearing against the dark of the trees
And when he is fed
He will find his way home
Settling into the warmth of his roost
Slumber overtaking
Until evening beckons him again.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved bats ~ their flight, their behavior, their uniqueness as the only mammal that can truly fly. Over the years, I have spent countless hours watching them, somewhat jealous of their ability to fly and greatly intrigued by their actions. It wasn’t until the other day, though, that something else clicked. I stated to a friend that I felt I was on the verge of “goin’ batty” lately, when I realized what I had just said and burst into laughter. Here were my beloved bat friends being lassoed into a description of my mental well-being (or perhaps lack thereof!) Of course, my curious self had to then look into the origin of the phrase.
Collins’ dictionary online describes “batty” as, ‘If you say that someone is batty, you mean that they are somewhat eccentric or slightly crazy.” (1) Vocabulary.com states, “Batty originally meant "like a bat," with the "eccentric" meaning arising from the expression "bats in the belfry," which means "crazy" or "not right in the head." (2) For those of you who might have had personal experience with feeling this way or are wondering if you are “going batty” or are anxious just at the thought of it, I have a few questions for you to ponder. If you haven’t ever felt that way, but perhaps thought that of someone else, there might be something here for you to ponder as well!
Contemplation:
Have you every felt like you were “goin’ batty?”
If so, what did that feel like? Did your actions and emotions feel erratic?
Looking at the situation in hindsight, can you see any patterns of behavior? Anything that seems personally instinctual for you? Does it seem totally random or can you perceive a plan behind the randomness?
What can you take away from this reflection?
Is there something in nature that speaks to you personally? If so, what and how?
About the picture ~ two of my favorite night things, bats and the moon. One night I decided to give another go at getting a picture of a bat in flight (which is much harder than I thought!) But, that night I got one and the moon too!
(1) https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/batty
(2) https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/batty
