Through the stained glass windows
Of a butterfly's wings,
I can see eternity.
In the erratic flight of a moth
Confused by all the light,
I comprehend more than one road taken.
I have walked through the valley of the shadow of death,
But in the spark of a spirit raven's eye
Have returned to my body.
I have rescued a bright red cardinal
From the jaws of my cat
And felt his delicate feet lift free
from the palms of my hands.
My soul has wandered,
Paused to explore life in the
tidal pools,
tidal pools,
And felt the pull from a great depth of ocean.
But I felt in the air an urgent disturbance of wings
And heeded the strident seagull's call:
"High tide, high tide."
I think your opening line is a wonderful image for a butterfly. I find this an evocative and sensitive poem full of hope and optimism and joy in life.
ReplyDeleteYes, when I am not being a pessimist, I am pretty much an optimist. Thanks for the comment.
Deletewhat an awesome piece... and the pictures are all beautiful.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter took some of the pictures. She will become inflated like a balloon when I show her your comment. Thank you.
DeleteYou have managed to come up with some beautiful verses to accompany those pictures! So much meaning can be expressed in few words, I find. You accomplished that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking part in Poetry Pantry. I WILL be adding you to our blog roll, as you requested. Hope to see you often in Pantry and also on Wednesday when Ella does 'Wednesday Words.' Nice meeting you!
One suggestion if you want to encourage comments: Rid yourself of word verification. It makes it difficult. I am now on my third try trying to get the thing right.
Thank you so much. As for the word verification, I wasn't aware I had it. Thanks for the advice and I have removed it.
DeleteFirst stanza, wow. Great description.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really enjoyed the part about the cardinal's feet...for freedom, the bird had to be all the way away.
Yes, I see now. Before I hadn't seen it "all the way" or from the bird's perspective. I was only reliving the thrill of the sensation of his tiny little feet. But that's one of the things I love about poems. Each one is like a seed and depending on where it's planted grows how it will in another's mind. Then all the poems together make up the universe. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteGreat capture of the essence of these wonderful moments. Enjoyed the read, thank you!
ReplyDeleteI have never spoken with other poets before. Today has been refreshing. Thank you for your comment.
DeleteVery beautiful writing, especially returning to your body, and also freeing the bird. I have freed several hummingbirds from being trapped in the corners of windows, and, recently, a barn swallow who got stuck behind some metal grating. They are light in one's cupped hands as a feather and it is lovely to see them fly off. Loved this poem!
ReplyDeleteMy son once rescued a hummingbird from garden netting, and excited words just fell out of his normally reticent mouth. So yes, it is lovely to see them fly off. It affects us strongly.
DeleteReally well written, I especially enjoyed the first stanza!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a photograph of the time I saw sunlight flowing through a butterfly's wings. It was all sparkly and ethereal and took me to another place - for a moment. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteLibby, I am back again from Poets United. These are very beautiful - true miracles, all around us, all the time!!!!
ReplyDelete