December 16, 2016

"As roses might in magic amber laid"

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First Dinosaur Tail Found Is Preserved in Amber and Covered in Feathers: The piece—which is about the size of an apricot—had already been partially shaped into an oval by a jeweler.

Rather than damage their research, this actually helped them analyze the cross section of the tail, where they discovered remnants of iron deposits found in dinosaur soft tissue. The sample dates to the mid-Cretaceous Period, some 99 million years ago. And the feathers? While the first fossil evidence of feathered dinosaurs was found in the 1990s, the 1.4-inch preserved appendage is the first time scientists can clearly associate plumage with these extinct creatures. Based on the tail’s structure, it’s believed that it belonged to a juvenile coeleosaur. Coleosaurs are a group of theropod dinosaurs that includes everything from tyrannosaurs to modern birds. -- My Modern Met

Envoi

Go, dumb-born book,
Tell her that sang me once that song of Lawes:
Hadst thou but song
As thou hast subjects known,
Then were there cause in thee that should condone
Even my faults that heavy upon me lie
And build her glories their longevity.

Tell her that sheds
Such treasure in the air,
Recking naught else but that her graces give
Life to the moment,
I would bid them live
As roses might, in magic amber laid,
Red overwrought with orange and all made
One substance and one colour
Braving time.

Tell her that goes
With song upon her lips
But sings not out the song, nor knows
The maker of it, some other mouth,
May be as fair as hers,
Might, in new ages, gain her worshippers,
When our two dusts with Waller’s shall be laid,
Siftings on siftings in oblivion,
Till change hath broken down
All things save Beauty alone.

-- Ezra Pound

The Creation maybe mysterious in that much is yet to be revealed, but is not a secret. It is pervasive and profound. Just look around. If you wish to see the dinosaurs, look up.

Posted by gerardvanderleun at December 16, 2016 6:14 PM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

It has feathers and looks like a birds tail. Why do they think its not a bird?

Posted by: bgarrett at December 16, 2016 6:28 PM

Ancient One, entombed with now forgotten scenes,
your life-relatives with nonhuman means,
with no apologies, we now you disinter,
trying to decode what you truly were,
Golden amber seals some of your last remains,
and raindrops fall weeping as our own time wanes.


Posted by: Howard Nelson at December 17, 2016 10:05 PM