{"id":4563,"date":"2025-04-19T18:59:37","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T22:59:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/?p=4563"},"modified":"2025-04-22T01:37:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-22T05:37:20","slug":"flores-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/2025\/04\/19\/flores-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Elegy From Millinocket"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Chantelle Flores<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cElegy From Millinocket\u201d delves into our collaborative identity with nature in reflecting on my great grandmother\u2019s embrace of nature in daily life. I question the common notion of a \u2018return\u2019 to nature, as how can one return to a world they have never truly left? Although we spend a majority of our time in domestic spaces, we inherently rely on and surround ourselves with natural products and find ourselves commonly traveling, whether by foot or car, through natural spaces. We often only acknowledge a connection, or \u2018return,\u2019 to nature in our intentional and brief interactions: an outdoor expedition, a vacation, or photography session. Yet, what happens and changes when we view everyday actions, hobbies, and even homes as artistic moments\u2013moments warranting reflection, collaboration, and admiration\u2013of nature? Part of conservation and sustainability efforts rely on building personal relationships and emotional connections with nature among community members, and finding moments of collaboration between ourselves and nature within daily life presents opportunities for increased awareness and care toward our environments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Katahdin\u2019s the only one watching
as we sip stories through tear-stained napkins.

My eulogy\u2019s flown with the northern wind
by the time my cousin begins the dig.

They tell of forests felled into fields,\u00a0
of the produce, corn and potatoes, and

of my great grandmother\u2019s child hands
boring holes in the soil of the family plot.\u00a0

They reassure a return to the earth
as if she abandoned these aspens in life,\u00a0

but the daisies on my dress match those at her stone
like the daylilies and daisies back at her home.\u00a0

The bird bath beyond her trailer window
now fills with algae and feathers.

The wooden ramp rising to her front door
now weathers and lies leaf-littered.\u00a0

Surely she admires seeing Katahdin now
having grown up in its stately shadow,\u00a0

but all I\u2019m left to admire is all she has tended,\u00a0
her petaled children nestled in their garden beds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Chantelle Flores \u00a0 \u201cElegy From Millinocket\u201d delves into our collaborative identity with nature in reflecting on my great grandmother\u2019s embrace of nature in daily life. I question the common notion of a \u2018return\u2019 to nature, as how can one return to a world they have never truly left? Although we spend a majority of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2556,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4563","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spire-2025-issue"],"yoast_head":"\nElegy From Millinocket - The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability - University of Maine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/umaine.edu\/spire\/2025\/04\/19\/flores-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elegy From Millinocket - The Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability - University of Maine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Chantelle Flores \u00a0 \u201cElegy From Millinocket\u201d delves into our collaborative identity with nature in reflecting on my great grandmother\u2019s embrace of nature in daily life. 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