All things great and small

Citation

Maddock, L. and Maroun, W. (2022), "All things great and small", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 35 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-05-2022-149

Sustainability SOS 2, 2021

On a rainy, November morning (always a reason for blessing in this part of Africa),

in my own garden

a ladybird landed on my hand.

She moved herself into my palm,

my left palm, which is odd, because I am right-handed

but she knew her route.

I did not move because of the light

rain on my face

AND she immediately took up residence, losing her

legs and wings in one.

So beautiful and full of grace,

she, coloured black with white dots:

a ballet, in fact, and I the lumpish audience.

We stayed static, listening

to the “music of the spheres”.

At last, I, the limited human, had to

move:

I gently moved her to a rose bush:

at once, she found a new home, nestling into

the bloom's centre –

Gorgeous, the importance of such a small creature …

I am ashamed that when siblings and I

found a ladybird, in family's gardens, we used to sing

“Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home.

Your house is on fire and your

children are all gone”.

Then this beauty flew away, although I did not speak.

Now in 2021, we are learning how vital

each and every small life is.