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      October 1, 2018Choose Your Own Adventure: The Galápagos Mating DanceCaroline N. Simpson

      You are a single woman, about to embark upon your most challenging and dangerous mission. Equipped with a libido and the instinct to bear children, your objective is to find the perfect mating ritual in the Galápagos Islands. You bravely face elaborate courtship dances, rough foreplay, and single parenting—but will you return to the U.S. with the partnership pattern that works for you?

      eSimpson1
      CHAPTER ONE
      You are a blue-footed booby.
      A male approaches you
      and begins to dance,
      taking giant steps in place
      to flaunt his turquoise feet,
      indicators of his health.
      If red throat pouches
      are more of a turn-on,
      skip to Chapter Two.
       
      He offers you twigs and grasses,
      symbols of the nest
      you will build together.
      Impressed, you dance too,
      face-to-face walking
      on a treadmill.
      You mirror each movement,
      a connection found
      in how much you can act
      like one another.
      His dancing escalates—
      wingtips, tail, beak
      all point skywards.
      When you match
      his sky pointing,
      the bond is sealed.
      He whistles; you honk.
      Even after nesting begins,
      you continue to dance.
      If you would rather
      he stop trying to get it on,
      so you can focus
      on being a mom,
      skip to Chapter Three.
       
      You both incubate the eggs,
      taking breaks only to hunt.
      While you are off to eat,
      he strays from the nest,
      dances the booby-two-step
      with other females,
      but when you return,
      he comes back immediately.
      If you prefer a partner
      who can abstain
      from flirting with others,
      go to Chapter Two.
       
      Your family stays together
      six months, one season.
      Once the juvenile leaves the nest,
      you both move on to new mates—
      no empty nest syndrome for you.
      If you prefer a partner
      to grow old with,
      rekindling the romance
      once the kids are gone,
      skip to Chapter Six.
             
            eSimpson2
      CHAPTER TWO
      You are a great frigatebird
      soaring above a sea of males,
      fishing for your mate.
      If you prefer he
      be the one to choose,
      skip ahead to Chapter Three.
      He perches in a bush,
      having spent twenty minutes
      inflating his throat pouch
      into a red balloon.
      When he sees you,
      he loses control,
      spreads his wings,
      erupts in a shrill cry
      and a fit of head-shaking,
      the bloated red throat waggling.
      It is not the size of the sac
      that gets your attention,
      but the nesting spot he chose.
      If the quality of his nest
      is not how you shop for lovers,
      return to Chapter One.
      You are impressed.
      You alight between
      his spread wings.
      He wraps one around you;
      the match is made.
      You are seasonally monogamous,
      but it might be two years
      before your parental duties end,
      and you can move on.
      If a two-year commitment
      gives you reason
      to doubt your choice,
      because it is the size
      of the throat sac that counts,
      return to the beginning
      of this chapter.
      There are many more
      fish in this sea.
       
            eSimpson3
      CHAPTER THREE
      You are a Galápagos giant tortoise,
      watching two males fight for you—
      face-to-face,
      up on their legs,
      stretched necks,
      gaping mouths.
      The smaller one retreats;
      the victor claims his prize.
      If you find dominance displays infantile,
      skip to Chapter Six.
      The foreplay is rough.
      He rams his shell into yours,
      nipping your legs.
      He awkwardly mounts you,
      stretching and tensing
      his neck and legs
      to stay balanced.
      The queue of males behind you
      must wait two hours
      for this fellow to finish up.
      His concave belly
      atop your convex shell,
      you fit together like spoons.
      He hoarsely bellows and grunts,
      groans rhythmically atop you.
      If you prefer softer, sweeter sex sounds,
      skip to Chapter Six.
      Six hours later,
      you complete copulation
      with the last male in the queue.
      You are exhausted,
      but the hard work is behind you.
      Once you lay your eggs
      in a nest hole filled with urine,
      you leave the sun
      to do the incubation.
      If you prefer more active parenting,
      with both of you involved,
      jump to Chapter Six.
             
            eSimpson4
      CHAPTER FOUR
      You are a waved albatross.
      Courtship is an elaborate dance,
      a series of displays repeated
      in different orders until perfected—
      bill circling,
      sky pointing,
      shy looking,
      drunken swaggering,
      bill clapping.
      Multiple males approach you
      to show off their moves,
      but the dancer
      with grace of carriage
      and youthful spring,
      he who can make
      even a complicated choreography
      distinct to see,
      is the one who attracts you.
      If you prefer a simpler
      yet equally engaging dance,
      refer to Chapter One.
      You are partners for life,
      living into your late thirties.
      When your chicks hatch,
      you put them in small nurseries
      while you both go off to hunt.
      If you prefer one of you
      stay home with the kids,
      return to Chapter One
      (but be careful—
      it’s a recipe for adultery).
      Each year after months apart,
      you return to the island
      where you first met
      and dance again.
      If he can’t find you immediately,
      he is unfaithful.
      If you prefer to be the adulterer,
      skip to Chapter Six.
             
            eSimpson5
      CHAPTER FIVE
      You are a Galápagos sea lion.
      You bask on the beach
      with girl friends
      while your bull swims
      up and down the coastline
      barking long and loud
      at any males near his harem.
      If gifts are more
      your language of love,
      return to Chapter One.
      He has been so busy
      defending his territory
      that he has not eaten in weeks.
      He is exhausted,
      and his sexual performance
      has declined.
      You watch the bachelors
      he chases away
      swim to a beach
      down the coast.
      When he is not looking,
      you sneak off underwater
      to visit the bachelor colony.
      Young, horny, strong,
      these males are everything
      your bull is not.
      With satisfied libido,
      you return to the harem,
      your absence unnoticed.
      If sexual satisfaction
      is an important determiner
      in your choosing a mate,
      return to Chapter One.
      One year after conception,
      you give birth to a pup,
      synchronized with other
      newborns in the harem.
      Your babies grow together,
      napping and learning to swim.
      After a few weeks,
      you mate again,
      but your primary role is mother.
      You tend to the pup
      for three years.
      In that time,
      many bulls come and go,
      leaving your children
      and closest girl friends
      the most important
      beings in your life.
             
            eSimpson6
      CHAPTER SIX
      You are a Galápagos hawk.
      You soar through skies
      screaming kee-kee-keeu,
      but when you find a mate,
      your call softens
      to kilp-kilp-kilp.
      You breed year-round
      whenever the feeling
      comes over you,
      a few times a day
      on a perch or in flight.
      Your partner is monogamous,
      but you sleep around—
      up to seven males per season.
      If you cannot handle
      the emotional complexity
      of an open relationship,
      refer to Chapter Four.
      Even with your promiscuity,
      the commitment to him
      is for life.
      You use the same nest each year.
      He stays close to home,
      helping to incubate,
      even feed the chicks.
      The nest is never left
      to fall apart.
      You both add new twigs,
      switching out old materials
      with new and better ones
      until it is four feet across.
      If a bigger, better house
      is not important to you,
      and remodeling is not
      how you want to spend
      quality time together,
      return to Chapter Five.
             
            eSimpson7
      CHAPTER SEVEN
      You are a single American woman
      on a vacation cruise
      in the Galápagos Islands.
      He is an Ecuadorian sailor
      working on your yacht.
      The dance begins at the airport
      and escalates on the boat—
      lingering eye contact,
      up-down eyebrow flashes,
      winking,
      kissy lips,
      “muy guapa,”
      waist squeezing,
      hands brushing calves,
      kissing,
      entering your cabin
      to touch you all over.
      The courtship dance lasts
      several days in secret.
      If he is caught by the captain,
      he will be fired,
      arrested by the police.
      If secrecy is not a turn-on,
      return to Chapter Five.
      After four days,
      you meet him
      late at night above deck.
      You climb down
      the back of the boat
      into the engine room
      for the culmination
      of the mating dance.
      The next morning,
      he dismisses touch,
      avoids you for two days.
      On the last day,
      he pursues you again—
      calls you wife,
      expresses sadness
      for your leaving.
      As he drops you off
      at the airport,
      your eyes remain locked
      until you can no longer
      see each other.
      If you prefer less push and pull,
      a more consistent mating dance,
      return to Chapter One.
      You arrive at the end
      of your Galápagos adventure.
      If you have yet to find
      within these chapters
      the perfect partnership pattern
      that works for you,
      stay on the islands.
      Revisit the chapters.
      Unlike previous animals,
      you can easily hop
      between adaptations.
      Stay longer in some chapters
      and skip others altogether.
      Or if several adaptations
      are of interest to you,
      and you would like them
      all in one chapter—
      a sexually satisfying,
      monogamous, lifelong partner;
      the sharing of parental duties;
      an exciting courtship dance
      that lasts for life;
      and a community of friends
      to raise your children with—
      close this book.
      Continue to evolve.

      from #60 - Summer 2018

      Caroline N. Simpson

      “My experiences living and traveling abroad are a great source of inspiration for me. Seeing my world through the lens of another culture—or in this case, animal species—is at the heart of my work. When visiting the Galápagos Islands, I was struck by how each species stuck to one mating style, yet humans have adopted a myriad of ways of partnership. When writing, I embrace questions, and through my pen, let the mystery propel me. From penning this poem, I discovered that I am still on the islands, revisiting the chapters, hopping between adaptations.”