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Secular Butterfly
A butterfly came floating by,
mocking the caterpillar's crawl.
"Your slowness makes you food for birds,
you'll never last through fall.
The time it takes to eat your leaves,
brings death upon your door.
My brittle wings make me elite,
you're destined for the floor.
For only if you knew my ways,
The joy that life would bring.
Your simple nature curses you,
Your sorrows I must sing."
The caterpillar lifts his head,
and says unto the sky,
"I beg you for your mercy lord,
I love the butterfly."
The butterfly looks down below,
and utters in return,
"You're wise to put your faith in me,
you still have much to learn.
You have no need to worship me,
and keep your simple plan.
It only labels you a fool,
care not how life began.
It's true I'm free to roam the earth,
not waste my time with you,
but I want to save your life,
by changing what you do."
The caterpillar shakes his head,
and says to his new friend,
"It is not you I'm talking to,
but my savior 'til the end.
Until you know how life began,
your ignorance is bliss.
Until you know your vital source,
your purpose you will miss.
I'd take this time to talk with you,
and teach you His good word.
Your focus stayed with me too long.
At least you fed that bird."
Magnificient!
Beautiful words of truth, not only to the catterpillar and butterfly, it affects all living things. Magnificiently penned.
Thanks for sharing. Linda
Thanks!
Thanks so much. I'm just starting to write poetry and I decided to take a stab at expressing my views on the threats towards religious freedom in society today. I wanted to somehow relate religion to a cocoon, which prompted me to quickly research the caterpillar/butterfly relationship. It's worth noting that while inside the cocoon, the caterpillar completely breaks down into an enzyme/liquid, which is used to completely rebuild the butterfly from scratch. I almost imagine the caterpillar as sort of a living egg for the butterfly. Which leads me to believe that the butterfly has no recollection of his life as a caterpillar and therefore would be ignorant to that relationship, until developing caterpillar offspring of its own (at maturity). When I realized that, I thought nothing better than using that relationship to pen my thoughts on the topic, and a few minutes later... wallah! It's a pretty elementary poem, but I think it really touches on a valid point. Thanks again for acknowledging that.
response to Thanks
Joe,
As I related it to all living things, most of which do not remember their development stage. Your poetry is as good as the pros, so keep it up. Looking forward to more.
Linda