Last Monarch

I heard it

almost silently

almost a droplet when first I heard the hour and glass

that sense that comes after others have faded

that moment when fear has ruined their souls

But not hers

 

I heard the slip in stars

the last monarch with wings spread over 

orange tilting over the daydreams of my last intent

eyes of occasion

swaying like dancers in the open impossibilities

anything

something

knowing more than she believes

knowing in someplace she intends

or maybe just knowing

 

I heard the hour and glass

after everything was gone 

I heard my own voice knowing in silence

knowing that she’ll whisper my name again

and I’ll whisper hers to end what she's never known

the whisper I dared to intend all along

Reviews

[John Alexander McFadyen]

I like the way you take nature, the butterfly and use it as allegory to take the reader through a tale of love that hangs unsaid until courage is sought out.

[Perdition]

We all hover at times and the Monarch makes quite the journey from Chicago down to Mexico...takes several generations to accomplish the round trip but in the course of our own pursuits and loves I think we can relate to the calling and determination ...I only wish the aspect of orange and the meaning behind that carried over as well...the orange and black butterfly known as the Viceroy..completely different creature that mimics in order to gain the same benefits as the Monarch...birds won't eat the Monarch...nor bats I've heard as they taste bitter...so the Viceroy though juicy and tender achieve the same respect through the art of mimic..lol. Thank you for the kind words!

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Ah you must be versed in lepidopterology and it is wonderful to draw lessons from nature.

[Perdition]

First time I've ever heard that word but I have a very keen eye for watching out for things in nature and a passion to for learning so it is indeed a rare pleasure to draw lessons from nature. Thank you for the lesson as well...have to say that word for a week now or chase it down with a butterfly net so it doesn't escape the mind..lol.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

My pleasure Sir.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

she is never gone in your thoughts...the whisper of her in your ears will be infinite...
great division of lines here.
the last stanza blows me away..."and I'll whisper hers to end what she's never known"

wow...i wish i had written that line.
j.

[Perdition]

Many thanks and congrats on reaching the top writer today... It's an honor to be reviewed by the top rated. Most of us don't watch these things but I think when we pass them by on our way to someplace else and see who is up there we should at least recognize when they are in our site reviewing so again congratulations and thank you so much for the kind words!!

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

I pinning this into my library...I will return with thoughts once I have fully immersed from my cocoon :)

[Perdition]

So many thoughts ...so little time..lol. Thanks Queen!

[Kelly Scheppers]

There are flickers of romance that dance throughout this piece, like a moth to a flame. I was told once that butterflies are messengers of God, lilting down to earth in the presence of someone dear. Your work is compelling to read, with a tendency to stick to the soul.

[Perdition]

I"ve heard the same myself where they appear in places not normally seen such as out at sea or at mountain peeks,,or at Starbucks buying lattes . and reading poetry...haha...now the Monarch however...a journey generational and the only butterfly that knows how to hover because of the length of this journey ...then again I wonder how many things scientists have thrown into the illusionary batter just to get their fundings...lol Thank you Kelly...

[emmajoy]

' .. that sense that comes after others have faded .. that moment when fear has ruined their souls.. '

There's something about butterflies.. Their fragility deceives yet, their wings flutter tirelessly against glass only to continue their journey when others have failed long, long before. And inevitably will.

[Perdition]

Hey you...Yeah..the butterflies do seem to me a serious reflection of matters beyond the usual..I think god put them here for us to feel weak and pathetic at times..along with amazed..the hour and glass ...the sound of it struggling in the bell jar just like the heart in the ribcage or the brain in the skull. I suppose I"ll return to this one and feel as if I've let out more than intended someday...but not this day.....today the wings want to will my try over inevitability ...Thanks!!

[lightsong]

How sensitive is that? way deep into the very soul? images which are beyond than images, for those who know and feel what these words are, a far away Love, maybe unrequited but in my opinion and how I read it, the bond is too tight in the spirits to be unrequited, I see it was fate or/and life which played their parts there, and yes, You should have and "dared" to whisper, now that her spirit is dancing in the air and You can feel each trace You are conferred again, that some time, some day, You two will be dancing together again, even when death has separated You, one thing caught my attention, I got that feeling that You seem to understand her endless capabilities more than she did to herself, and more assured in a belief that lives inside You, honestly I found a lot of my self here, of course including the photo :) superb my friend superb...

[Perdition]

I always love your interpretations and your unique flair and you unique way for finding the tortured soul within me Light...perhaps it is there. We all walk that walk...I tend to borrow from the many aspects of living and denials and romanticize the nature of all of it. The distance of youth or the distance of something I once coveted such as peace and throw that into the wonderful nature of women ...helps the emotions but then again...maybe you're right and I'm fooling myself..hmmm?..lol. Thank you for the insightful review ...especially the ending as that does have a memory to it...isn't denial grand. hahah..Smiles

[lightsong]

there is no way You are fooling Your self, no one knows Him better than You, let me tell You two things, us poets do tend to use everything and make it into words, even our past long memories, it's not like we are stuck inside them but we bring them into the moment to write something, we also tend to exaggerate with a certain emotion to let it flow and control our paper, second, sometimes we grow and grow to a limit when we feel that our loved ones are not at the same level as us, sometimes they don't even want to grow with You, but stay at a level in the mind, in the heart and spirit. this will leave You to be lonely.

this poem is special, and the "ending" You mean the photo?

[Perdition]

Thanks again Light...Not the photo, that is a happy coincidence ...I meant exactly as you put it yet never underestimating the heart of a poet to write out what is sometimes even deeper than intended...the mind loves to slip out images and meanings that only come into focus hours or even years later, as well you know. It's why I go back and read my older poems in disbelief.

[lightsong]

I think I didn't put it into the right words, You said, "especially the ending as that does have a memory to it" and I was asking which part You meant.

I got You here, sometimes we need years to gather the parts together and have the whole image, the mind can be a playing toll, emotions can fool us sometimes too, but don't read with disbelief Your older poems (though I do get what You mean) they were a belief at sometime, and now it's that they are change into another belief, that's it, and I think I must stop talking now LOL

[Perdition]

hahaha....well I'll join ya and we can listen out for that silence unintended but I'm certain we could continue in a mass debate over the mental and the subconscious level of our own writings....lets just say we get it and run for now...lol!

[lightsong]

lol lol lol that's sound with "no" sound so good, excuse me now I must run awayyyy... 🌈🦋