Insect Poems

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"Great spangled fritillary" - bold, pretentious name

Evoking pomp and circumstance, nobility and fame

Giant orange plumage, royal robe trimmed out with fur

All New England's butterflies bow their wings to her

Above my door, a luna moth

Cut from pale green velvet cloth

Wings with iridescent eyes

Tuxedo tails of handsome size

He posed within my wondering gaze

And stayed, unmoving, two full days

But when I tried to touch him there

He stirred and rose up in the air

Up and down, I watched him fly

A roller coaster in the sky

Winged away, and crossed my lawn

Before I knew it, he was gone!

Butterflies, on rounded rocks, gathered by the stream

A pride of tiger swallowtails, as if from some odd dream

Black and yellow wings atop some pinkish, blue-ish stone

Kaleidoscope - none other, than creation's very own

Soon, their wings will lift and soar upon an evening breeze

Moiré patterns, scattering, wherever they might please

The silent rocks will stay there, unmoving until when

A summer storm comes crashing, joyous, down the rocky glen

A stick which walks on trees, and stalks its prey

The leaves it sees on other sticks, no less

Hiding in full sight, and in full light of day

Funny, little lanky leggy-ness!

A pretty, yellow bumblebee,

A fuzzy, clumsy, tumbling ball,

Buzzed around our cherry tree

Making dancing petals fall

And they, in turn, all flitter-flutter,

Tether to their mother gone,

Settled in a pinky clutter

Carpeting the spring-green lawn

Could a battered old butterfly possibly pray?

If it could, I imagine that old soul might say:

“Thank you for giving me beautiful wings

To fly where the lovely goldfinch sings

To sip from flowers with colors divine

A life of soaring freedom, mine!

And though my wings have now grown old

I'll never need face the winter cold

My instincts and memory full of what's warm

Most of the day, I feel quite safe from harm

With each flap of my wings, all the days that remain,

Thank you for sunshine and thank you for rain

Thank you for flowers and breezes and sky

And for making me into a creature that flies!”