Lunar Punk Press

Verbs of life

an extract

translated by Nielsine Nielsen

A

Algae

To algae. Being in the world as algae. Living in water and sugaring excessively ⌂ to micro-alga(e), to macro-alga(e) ◊ TO KELP

Amathyst

To amathyst. Being in the world as an amethyst. Crystalling in pegmatite dikes as hydrothermic crystals. Violetting in multiple nuances ◊ TO CRYSTAL, TO QUARTZ, TO STONE ❊ I love seeing them amethyst, it ignites a spark deep inside me

Anemone

To anemone. Being in the world as an anemone. Living on the forest floor and intuiting the right time to flower: in the interval between when the Sun suns and when the beech beeches  ◊ TO WILDFLOWER ❊ the best time to anemone is when the equinox mornings

Antelope

To antelope. Being in the world as an antelope. Having a slender build and spiraled horns ○ Being able to leg off faster than most. Assoc.: gazelle, waterbuck, gnu ◊ TO DEER, TO MAMMAL

Ape

To ape. Being in the world as an ape. Thinking spatially and employing the tail as a functional body part. Feeling and tasting your way through life ○ Using one’s wits to solve problems ◊ TO MONKEY ❊ I aped my way towards how we were going to get to the other side

Armadillo

To armadillo. Being in the world as an armadillo. Having a leathery armor shell whose primary purpose is protection ○ Having a great appetite for bugs ◊ TO ANIMAL

To ash

Being in the world as an ash tree or ash seed. Forming opposite compound leaves. Being old among trees. To be known in the Nordics as the ash tree Yggdrasil ◊ TO TREE, TO WORLD ○ Being in the world like ashes from scorched materials, met.: Burning up your previous form and taking on a new one that comes off as less glamorous but may be better for you in the long run ❊ I ashed for a long time before I understood that felt more like myself in my new form.

Ast

To ast. Being in the world as an aster. To flowerbasket with half-screen baskets and small, lance-shaped leaves ○ Mirroring oneself in the shapes of the stars and the light of the ocean. Met.: Radiating gently, but having a decidedly chaotic nature ⌂to beach ast, to summer ast ◊ TO FLOWER, TO HERB, TO STAR ❊ we ast until the day we seed

B

Bacteria

To bacteria. Being in the world as a bacterium. Having a microscopic size compared with most other forms of beings. Being nucleus-less and thriving in colonies. Adapting and thriving in most places that are inhabitable for other species, for example by mounds and in low temperatures, as well as under oxygen-free and radioactive conditions. Inhabiting all greater organisms and living in earth, air and water everywhere ◊ TO BACILLATE

Bark

To bark. Being in the world like bark. Being the outermost layer of the branches and twigs on trees and shrubs. Having a protective shell on the outside and transporting sugar and forming tissue on the inside. Met.: Hardening and shielding oneself against pressures coming from the outside and nurturing and strengthening one’s innermost core a the same time ◊ TO COAT, TO CRUST ❊ I barked for years in that room until I could stand up tall

Bean

To bean. Being in the world as a bean. Growing up in pods. Met. Being safely protected and ensconced. Feeling comforted and surrounded by loved ones. ◊ CAVE, YOUNG ○ Nurturing, harvesting, preparing and eating beans ○ Being a tiny round fruit, and therefore being called a bean after the harvest (r.u.: primarily in relation to coffee). Met.: Being cute and little ◊ COFFEE, POD ❊ we’re beaning in our pod ❊ come and tuck yourself in, little beanie

Bee

To bee. Being in the world as a bee. Being a four-winged insect with a yellow and black (often closs-striped and furry) hindbody. Moving in the air and living off of the nectar and pollen from flowers ○ Being able to honey and to sting ○ Lifing symbiotically with plants and taking on responsibility for pollinating their flowers ◊ TO HONEY, TO WASP ❊ we are best at beeing, when we have a sweet tooth

Beech

To beech. Being in the world as a beech nut: the nut from a beech. Being housed in pairs of two behind a spiky exterior. To seed with three walls and prepare for two fates: either as a majestic tree or as rodent fodder ◊ TO BEECH, TO SEED

Beetle

To beetle. Being in the world as a beetle. Moving quietly, but abruptly causing a ruckus. Having a modus that is intermittently calm and inactive, and rumbling ❊ when they are beetling I don’t know what to make of them

Belt

To belt. Being in the world as a belt. Connecting great waters above water ◊ TO BRIDGE, TO BROW

Berry

To berry. Being in the world as a berry. Being a meaty fruit with more than one kernel ⌂ to bramble, to raspberry, to strawberry, to crowberry, to gooseberry, to blackcurrant, a.o. ❊ we berry as juicily as we can, hoping that someone will beek us out into the world. Met. Being pregnant with two or more children/cubs ❊ I berried all of seven cubs, every one of them healthy.

Birch

To birch. Being in the world as a birch tree. Growing rapidly and living transitorily compared with other trees. Being very thirsty. ◊ TO TREE, TO LEAF ❊ we birch when others struggle to tree, for example when their roots are submerged in boggy ground ○ Being in the world as poppy seeds ◊ TO POPPY

Blood

To blood. Being in the world as blood ○ Being a body that forms red and white blood cells and blood platelets. Met.: Forming or creating something vital ❊ when I write poems it feels like I am blooding

Breeze

To breeze. Being in the world as a breeze. Winding gently and warmly ○ Softly grazing and caressing the surfaces of forms of beings ◊ TO WIND ❊ I breeze gentleness onto hot cheeks and lift the dandelion young up high in the air, so they can pappus off towards new abodes ❊ today the Sun is shining and the sea is breezing in

Brook

To brook. Being in the world as a brook. Uniting the rushing water with the surrounding ground, all in one body ○ housing the beings who live in and around the brook. Flowing in a quiet, trickling, bubbling way ∆ TO STREAM  ❊ I brook the long beautiful pathway from the source of the spring to the wide ocean

Bryophyte

To bryophyte. Being in the world as a bryophyte, for example as moss or liverworts. Having preserved traits from the earliest land plants ○ tolerant of drought ◊ TO MOSS

C

To columbine 

Being in the world as a columbine. Having a straight back and a strong sense of aesthetics. Stemming, leafing and petalling with remarkable sculptural grace ❊ at the party I will columbine to the best of my ability

D

E

Ear

To ear. Being in the world as an ear. Standing on a grain or grass straw where the chaffs are ○ The feeling of being lifted way up high ⌂ to wheat-ear, to oat-ear, to rye-ear a.o. ◊ Graining, grainearing, met.: Being blessed with a strong focus, filled energy deposits, a secure future or precious belongings ❊ they only knew how to ear ❊ that is easy for him to say, coming from his earing background

F

Fern

To fern. Being in the world as a fern. Propagating through spores formed on the backside of the lead. Remembering the first plants on Earth. Assoc. with horsetail ◊ TO VASCULATE, TO SPORE, TO EPIPHYTE

Flower

To flower. Being in the world as a flower ○ A plant that forms flowers to pollinate and subsequently ripen the fruit/seeds ⌂ to flowerbasket, to lipflower, to maskflower, to orbflower a.o. ❊ when it is time to flower we do everything we can to make it as colourful and fragrant as possible

Fringe

To fringe. Being in the world as a fringe, for example of a wood ○ Constituting a transitional point between one enviroment and the other ○ Holding fast against the storm or whatever else is coming ○ Weaving together various habitats or forms of beings. Met. Being interdisciplinary or alternatively having many multifarious qualities, thereby making one’s surroundings flourish through mutual exchanges ◊ TO BRIDGE

G

H

Hill

To hill. Being in the world as a hill. Being a slightly elevated mound in the landscape. Lifting oneself above sea level and forming distinct habitats on the banksides ◊ TO KAME, TO MOUND ❊ the landscape hills south of the lake

I

J

K

L

Leaf

To leaf. Being in the world as a leaf. Having thousands of mouths and a well-developed sense of sugaring and oxygening ○ Forming leaves, like trees do, and employing these for vital functions such as inhales and exhales ❊ the asp is an active leaver, whereby it can absorb more carbon.

M

Maple

To maple. Being in the world as a maple or maple seed. Forming palmately lobbed leaves. Equipping one’s seeds with propellers so a seed can travel far ○ Growing solid among trees ◊ TO MAPLE, TO TREE

Mollusc

To mollusc. Being in the world as a mollusc. Living without vertebrae and having a mantle that replaces the water in one’s shell, gills or lungs ○ Certain species form an outer shell whose primary purpose is protection ◊ TO SHELL, TO ANIMAL

Mountain

To mountain. Being in the world as a mountain or mountain ring. Understanding time and growth within a significantly slower scale than most other entities. Standing still for thousands of years only to thunder and erupt, rip and spatter lava everywhere ◊ TO MAGMA, TO STONE, TO HILL ○ Growing in huge leaps, abruptly, dramatically and eventually settling down ◊ TO BEETLE

Mugwort

To mugwort. Being in the world as a mugwort. Growing willingly wherever there is nourishment and light, and thriving the most in dry, slightly sandy soil. To seed abundantly and decorate the seeds with precious, but delicate patterns. Met. Valuing quantity and quality in equal measure. To frugally make a lot of something in a manner that is both tidy and thorough as an act of simplicity. O.f.: to artemis ⌂ to graywort, to stonewort, to silverwort a.o. ❊ see her grayworting in a kitchen, making a feast out of the simplest ingredients

N

O

Orange

To orange. Being in the world as an orange. Forming a thick, spongy peel around your fruit so as not to be eaten prematurely ○ Beaming like small suns and scenting your surroundings ◊ TO CITRUS, TO FRUIT, TO APPELSINE ❊ we orange from the branches so you will see us and pick us

P

Pod

To pod. Being in the world as a pod. Hollowing out one’s fruit so it is softly sheltered ◊ TO CAVE, TO CAPSULE ❊ After having podded all summer long, our beans popped out, one by one

Poplar

To poplar. Being in the world as a poplar tree or poplar seed. Rattling one’s leaves in the wind, wafting mild notes out into the landscape ○ rummaging around underneath the earth’s surface and rootsprouting new generations forth ○ Being old amidst trees, especially in the Nordic countries ⌂ to quiverasp o.f.: esp ◊ TO TREE, TO POPLAR, TO CAPSULE ❊ when we poplar, and the birds beek, we form the sweetest symphony

Q

R

S

Shrub

To shrub. Being in the world as a shrub. Sharing a kinship with the being of trees, but of a shorter stature (max 3 m) and of a twiggier composition ◊ TO TREE, TO THICKET, TO TWIG ∆ TO TRUNK

Species

To species. Being formative of a species. Creating new species and tweaking exisisting ones ◊ TO CELL, TO LIFE ❊ life has speciesed since its origin

T

U

V

Valerian

To valerian. Being in the world as valerian. Having lobbed leaves and small white and tender-red leaves. Having medicinal qualities benefitting itself and other species ○ Practicing generosity through one’s healing abilities ⌂ to baldrine-heal ◊ TO HERB

W

Wave

To wave. Being in the world as a wave ○ Understanding the rhythm of rising and falling in unison ○ Being a moon making the sea levels rise and fall ❊ the grasses wave on the plain ◊ TO EBB, TO FALL

X

Y

Z