Free at Last

This piece was inspired by news stories about the massive emergence of 17-year periodical cicadas (“brood X”) during the summer of 2021. These insects have an incredible life cycle, during which they live underground for 16 years as juveniles, crawl from the ground in their 17th year, and emerge from their skins like butterflies from cocoons. The adults live briefly and deafeningly, searching to find mates, after which they die. Their eggs hatch about a month later, and the nymphs fall to the ground to dig in and repeat this amazing cycle of resilience and renewal.