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Wild Butterfly

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Egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, butterfly

This natural magic of transformation

Can happen to you too. Time makes you

More beautiful. Human metamorphosis

Liberates souls. Such a rare achievement

Requires an emptying of the mind

A deep (and often painful) compassion.

Defeat your expectations;

Free yourself from what is expected and you will see

The passing beauty of a butterfly. 

Butterflies live for about a week

Butterflies taste with their feet.

Butterflies do not have mouths.

Butterflies need the warmth of the sun to fly by.

Butterflies can see red, yellow, and green.

A butterfly's skeleton is on the outside of her body. 

The wings of a butterfly are transparent.

Tiny scales give their wings colour.

The souls of saints fly by metempsychosis

Into the bodies of butterflies

As they flutter hour after hour from flower to flower

Tasting the nectar through their proboscis

Remembering the caterpillar's cocoon

And speculating upon the depths and heights of eternity.

◄ Snowdrops

Sonnet ►

Comments

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John Marks

Sun 21st Jul 2019 15:01

Thank you, sincerely, Peter and Jon.

“I almost wish we were butterflies and liv'd but three summer days - three such days with you I could fill with more delight than fifty common years could ever contain.”
― John Keats, Bright Star: Love Letters and Poems of John Keats to Fanny Brawne.

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Jon Stainsby

Sun 21st Jul 2019 07:44

Beautiful, John. And the music, too

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Peter Taylor

Sun 21st Jul 2019 04:44

Good morning John.

I feel privileged to be the first reader to comment this morning. This is a beautiful poem which everybody really ought to read and then, as soon as possible, get out and find a butterfly from which to learn. It should be a momentous occasion!

Thank you for this.

Peter T

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