Blog 2394 – 05.15.2022
The Birds and The Bees (And Butterflies)
Talking about the birds and the bees is a euphemism for sex. The dictionary defines euphemism as follows:
My dearly departed daughter Emily would have turned forty-two this coming July 15th had she not died just five days after her thirty-second birthday ten years ago less two months. When Emily was a little girl her mother taught her to call her “lady part” her “flower.” Those are both euphemisms. Birds and bees and butterflies like men are pollinators and seed spreaders. I recall one of the young housemaids in Vietnam who referred to most of the American soldiers as butterflies because they flitted from flower to flower.
The old poet wrote: “Gather ye rosebuds while ye may.” War make young men extra anxious there will be less time for them to accomplish that biologically programmed mission, young women too.
A rock anthem from my youth began with the words: “Let me tell you ‘bout the birds and the bees and the sky up above and a thing called love.” People often confuse sex and love, the birds, the bees, and the butterflies are not confused.
Your friend and fellow traveler,
David White
Where have all the flowers gone -The kingston trio(lyrics)
theencouragingword 