Monarchs
gathered
in clusters
so thick
from branches overhead
the wonder in the eyes
of a child
discovering just one on the road
a delicate
fragile
beauty
a fluttering
mysterious marvel
you sparked
stories
of how you came to be
I never questioned
that you would arrive
to grace
the flowers
of my childhood
to decorate
the deep green
grove of trees
and now I look
back at the wonder
and appreciate
truly
the beauty
that you were
tears fall
age brings knowledge
making our world
better, richer, fuller
but sometimes
empty
when the butterflies
are not counted in bunches
but in single fluttering wings
I gasp and point
as monarchs float by
and remember
the innocent joy
a childhood vision
the monarchs of my heart
here
in the place
that raised me
a flutter of a wing
the slow unfurling of a flower
the forming of a seed
a butterfly
rests
gently
on the tips
of my memories
captured
in a moment
so fragile
so delicate
we are all reminded
of the ephemeral beauty
and the whispers
of loss
we live with
every day
unknown
to the wondering eyes
of a child
yet
watching
the butterflies
amass
in
marvelous
plenty
a whisper now
of single
wings
that
flutter by
this is
my butterfly
story
of my youth.