This is dedicated to XR and to Greta Thunberg. It’s about a moth I met in the Scottish Highlands in April: the marvellously named Rannoch Brindled Beauty. The flightless female simply crawls to the top of the nearest plant to send out her pheromones to attract males for breeding. The senses of the males are so amazing they can detect the female from miles away. Something about this moth sitting there so patiently reminded me of Greta sitting outside the Swedish government building with her sign.

Brindled Beauty: for Greta

She sits

Atop a myrtle bush

Wingless

She cannot fly

But sends out her desire

Her future dreams

Through the unsuspecting air

Her belief

In future generations

Borne upon the breeze

Hope of the unseen

Messaged across the barren lands

And am I powerless?