An Aside

The Egel

Prickly back facing the world
Soft underbelly
held close to gentle mother earth
Or curled into the centre
unreachable.

Sometimes there is a change
Prickles becoming soft feathers
Leaving the earth
Eyes sharp and clear
Unafraid
Power surging
Reaching higher.

Sometimes
I am both at once
A contradiction.

-Linda de Haen


The word Egel is dutch for hedgehog. When read as an English word I would pronounce it the same as Eagle. I like this concept and sometime ago wrote a poem about my feelings around the differences between these lovely creatures and the analagies that I drew with my feelings at that time that still resonate for me now. The word play on Bald Eagle and bold Eagle also intrigues me.

I find both animals incredibly fascinating. That contrast of the hedgehog curling up and protecting itself from danger and its low to the ground view of the world, dealing with whatever comes up along its path. Then the soaring openness and power of the eagle with it's clarity of vision and view of a bigger picture from the airy heights of its flight, diving down very specifically at what it wants. One is prickly and gentle the other has soft feathers and is fierce. Such contrasts within and between them. Both have great and very different survival skills.

The picture of the Bald Eagle was taken near my sister's place in Arizona at a regular haunt next to the Verde River quite near a highway. I don't know where the hedgehog photos came from, so I can't acknowledge the photographer, but they are adorable.

I was reminded of the poem because of the mixed emotions I am feeling at the moment. That anxiety and fear and wanting to curl up and not deal with the perceived 'threats'. On the other hand I feel strong and fierce and want to soar through life. I am aware that I need to accept both those parts of me and and nurture them. It is fine to be a contradiction and feel contradictions in the same moment. That is my life, for me, at this time.



Survive and thrive

Linda