written and posted by members of Lancashire Dead Good Poets' Society

Saturday, 29 July 2023

Forever In Amber

Do most of you know that  amber  is plant resin? If you've read any of this week's earlier blogs on the theme, you will be reasonably well versed in amber lore, so you'll be pleased to know that as a lead-in I'm going to relay gobbets of information not previously revealed.

Amber is very old. The oldest specimens so far identified date back 320 million years to the era of Palaeozoic tree-ferns. More modern ambers were formed during the Mesozoic period between 66 and 250 million years ago in the populations of cedars, redwoods and ancient pines that covered much of the earth. Interestingly the largest deposits of amber are to be found around the Baltic basin.

A plant's resin, part of its self-defence mechanism, was a polymer made up of terpenes (hydrocarbon rings). It would weep out at the place where the plant had suffered damage - for instance a gouge in bark or stem, a snapped off branch or an insect borehole - and it acted like a sticky liquid bandage to seal the wound and prevent invasion by bacteria or other harmful organisms. 

This resin hardened over time and although it was organic, it did not decompose as most organic material does. It was not water-soluble, and with a melting point of  200-400 C, it was a relatively stable material, and durable enough to have lasted millions of years.

What makes amber particularly attractive to us is its glass-like transparency, its colouration (anything from milky white through honey gold to blue and deep black) and a tendency to contain 'inclusions', insects, seeds, pollens, sometimes whole blossoms (see below) that became entombed in the seeping resin and were subsequently 'fossilized'... "a honeyed window to a long-forgotten past" as a fellow blogger so eloquently put it.

dogrose blossom preserved in amber
Ants, flies and mosquitos are by far the commonest fossils found in amber. Unsurprisingly, the larger the inclusion, the more valuable the piece will be. Whole flowers are very rare. Small frogs, lizards and scorpions are ever rarer. They were probably asleep at the time of their entombing. And this is the place to debunk a myth that has gained credence ever since the first 'Jurassic Park' movie, that extinct creatures can be re-engineered from DNA found in amber. That remains fantasy. (Sound of heavy footsteps approaching.)

By the way my chosen title for this Saturday's blog spins on that of a 1944 historical novel 'Forever Amber ' by Kathleen Winsor, which charts the progress of one Amber St Clare as she makes her way up through the ranks of 17th century English society by sleeping with or marrying successively richer and more important men while her heart remains true to the one she can never have. I've not read the novel. It was curiosity to see how it might relate to the weekly theme that drew me. The synopsis proved a catalyst for this latest from the imaginarium.

Fossil Eyes
If not the sun for love, a constellation 
of some recently discovered dimmer stars
must serve this ruthless dogrose rambling
up out of Erewhon towards Empyrean.

Though her yielding is soft and blushing
she is Amber by calling and shameless
as she makes steps of men's affections, 
slaves of their pierced souls in her climb.

In turn they ring her, think they have her
with that subtle amor vincit omnia tattoo 
and namestone dangling enchained over 
her occluded heart. She doesn't give a fig,

this pretty scheming bloom. Behind those 
honeyed flecks lie the hardest fossil eyes,
and such secret suffering as wound sealed
within remains mute as a scorpion's sting.








Thanks for reading, S ;-)

15 comments:

Nigella D said...

A brilliant read.

Adele said...

You are an oracle for informayion Steve. I remeber my sister reading Forever Amber. Not suitable for me who was 9 years younger. The poem is excellent .

Hester Dowling said...

Amazing

Anonymous said...

Top blogging Mr R.

Amber Molloy said...

I think I need to get hold of a copy of that book! An enjoyable read and I loved the poem.

The Existentialist said...

"More modern amber...between 66 and 250 million years (old)" made me smile. 😉

Emily Blythe said...

You didn't include your usual etymology paragraph (LOL) so I looked up the etymology of Amber - probably from the Ancient Persian 'anbar' - but this entry on a baby names website made me hoot: "The name Amber is primarily a female name of English origin that means Fossilized Tree Resin." Literally! Well done with the poem.

Rochelle said...

Reading your poem brought Moll Flanders and Roxana to mind. (Maybe Kathleen Winsor had read her Defoe too.)

Dermot said...

This is a brilliant poem and a really good blog.

Rod Downey said...

That's a powerful poem Steve.

Hannah Wrigley said...

I remember your blog about the pines pf Rome being ravaged by some insect. Do those trees excrete resin in their defence? I love rhe images and your Fossil Eyes poem.

Kate Eggleston-Wirtz said...

Learnt a lot - lovely poem Steve :)

Tony Sedgwick said...

FYI 'Forever Amber' is also the title of a poetry collection by my friend Marian Barker about life during the Covid years.

terry quinn said...

I wonder what is the largest animal or insect trapped in amber.

Excellent poem, especially 'honeyed flecks lie the hardest fossil eyes'.

Sophie Pope said...

Very interesting about amber. Is there any connection with ambergris (from whales, also gathered from the seashore)? It's a beautifully worked poem.