World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments

The Southern cassowary is a large bird nicknamed “the living dinosaur” due to its prehistoric skeletal features and the “dark growth of keratin on the top of the cassowary’s head” (146). They have a unique symbiotic relationship with the fruit trees that make up most of their diet: “[S]eeds from the ryparosa, a highly prized Australian tree, are more likely to sprout after a ride through the cassowary’s digestive tract” (147). They have dangerously sharp claws and have attacked and killed humans before. In 2019, a man in Florida was killed by one of his pet cassowaries when he accidentally startled it. Their call is a low “boom,” below the range of human hearing.

Cassowary populations are decreasing, and many cassowaries are killed in car accidents. Nezhukumatathil wonders if there are not sufficient efforts to protect cassowaries because they aren’t as well-known as other species found in zoos. She concludes the chapter with admonishments about people littering: “Boom, I want to say to the family who left their empty plastic water bottles on a bench at Niagara Falls State Park […]. Don’t you see? We are all connected” (146).

Monarch butterflies can pass flight pattern information on through generations. While migrating, they will sometimes fly around a mountain that has long since eroded. Nezhukumatathil calls this generational memory an “invisible kiss” and considers her own family legacy. She cracks a geode at her son’s birthday party. Later, at her home in Mississippi, a “beautiful lime-green chrysalis” forms in the front porch doorway (152). Her children notice and check on it every day. The chrysalis never hatches, and her husband eventually disposes of it while the kids are at school, though she suspects her sons “noticed it was gone” (154). One night, she hears her youngest son pray for the chrysalis.

Nezhukumatathil and her family are staying at the Grisham House, a large property in Mississippi, as part of a 10-month residency. They see lots of fireflies, and her children want to stay out every night. Nezhukumatathil is surprised that many students in her poetry seminars have never seen a firefly, and some have never heard of them. She asks her students what they did for fun growing up and learns that many spent most of their time watching TV or playing video games.

Firefly populations are decreasing “due to lawn pesticides and light pollution” (157). Nezhukumatathil mourns the loss of wildlife and the loss of environmental knowledge she notices in her students. She concludes the chapter by reflecting on the firefly’s ability to “light a memory I thought was long lost” (159) and by stressing the importance of “cherishing this magnificent and wondrous planet” (160).