6/8/11

A monarch butterfly with brilliant wings,

Collided with my windshield yesterday,

And taking care, as with all fragile things,

I tried to send it gently on its way.

Alas, the impact was too great a strain.

Its wounds were far too deep for it to fly.

I held it gingerly to spare more pain.

And sought a peaceful patch where it could die.

It’s splendor as I held it in my grasp,

Was striking to behold and to delight.

But still, its loveliness was far surpassed,

By those which flutter free in aimless flight.

True beauty when possessed shall waste and wane.

Yet flourishes afar and unrestrained.