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For one brief day
my misty blue
fluttering veils
reflect the sky
in which I dance
Velvet blue
I wander midst
the flowers of
the realm of death
requiem
First egg am I
caterpillar
nymph am I
transformed
butterfly
In pearl grey light
urgently quivering
with life, with death
I tear myself free
from the earth
I glide the land
through rings
of light and shade
and sense
the twilight calling
Knowing my time
is ending soon
I will fly north
lay off my wings
become a soul once more
Emma, what moves me is the fragility which you convey here. The fragility of the butterfly, of course - but also the fragility of life itself. Such a brief moment between one eternity and the next, but for your butterfly - and for us as well - such sweetness, such pain, such tenacity is experienced in that momentary fluttering of wings. The more we become aware of this precious brevity, the less time we give to those things which only take away from us what is of little merit, and the more time we give to those things of true value, and work, love and live in the little-enough time given to us. If I may quote a well-known Zen poem by Takuan:
ReplyDeleteThis day will not come again,
each minute worth a priceless gem.
Dear David, thank you so much for drawing out what I have wished to express here. Yes, it is only when we ourselves go through such experiences that life shows itself to us in such a way. Only in such moments do we truly see how brief, how fragile a life can be.
ReplyDeleteI am really grateful for your words.
Very touching and insightful comments Hawkwood! It is a poem that has as much meaning in the silent spaces between the words as in the words themselves. In the transitory and the ephemeral we discover eternity. Thank you for such a beautiful poem!
ReplyDelete..in the silent spaces...
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Joseph!