Butterflies

She asked me how she had come to me

On a sunny afternoon,

She couldn’t remember anything,

Her memories had flown.

She looked in awe at the dress she wore

And the sparkles on her shoes,

‘I didn’t have any of these before,

But what have I got to lose?’

 

I had her in mind for a Faery Queen

Or maybe a party girl,

I hadn’t a plot to fit right then

But thought I’d give her a whirl.

She had such grace and a lovely face

So I thought she’d fit right in,

And later, plenty of colour for

My lepidoptera tin.

 

She flittered and fluttered about the field

While I got my butterfly net,

She’d probably still be fluttering

If I hadn’t caught her yet.

But that’s how I catch my characters

That I fit in every plot,

I chase them round and I bring them down

Whether they want, or not.

 

The women are always butterflies,

The men are usually moths,

I struggle to keep the women sweet

But sometimes they are Goths.

As long as they play their part so well

That the reader doesn’t twig,

That all my casts are butterflies,

The small parts and the big.

 

For villains I use the Death’s Head Moth

For his markings are so grim,

But the innocent girls in chiffon are

The first to let him in,

He’s mean and cunning, and not so sweet

As the ones he seeks to fool,

But I am only the writer, so

Their conflict is my gruel.

 

I need to go where the sun is bright

And they flutter in the breeze,

To hold my butterfly net upright

And pursue them through the trees.

Then one day soon in the afternoon

I shall write a plot that sings,

And catch me a lepidoptera,

The one with the brightest wings!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

The writer has the license, to set his visions free. He scribes not only for himself, great rhymes for you and me. His Butterflies, as he describes, with fairy dust and grace are quite opposed to darkened moths, with ugliness of face. You capture us with fantasy laced with fascination, and beg us to believe In your, times weird, imagination. Then I find, at other times, a softer side of you.....but I'm aware the twists you share....are no surprise to you........

[W R Stowe]

Very good and well presented as life in the enchanted forest

[Matching Socks]

This is beautiful writing, great imagination.
I really enjoyed this David!

[Coyote Poetry]

Thank you for the amazing poetry. So many lines stood out.
"The women are always butterflies,
The men are usually moths,"
I agree with the lines above.
Coyote

[Avinash]

Anatomy of a great writing. Your characters always turn out be very interesting and seem to be picked up straight out of real life. They together make your stories so identifiable. The metaphors which you chose and the words you lace them with makes it a very fulfulling reading experience.

[Tate Morgan]

A great look into the mind of the your creations I loved this one

[R Smith]

excellent writing David, a lot of fun to read your writing never ceases to amaze me, i believe you can write about anything and make a superb poem of it :)

[Einstein Noodle]

i am truly laughing out loud at my computer .. simply the best Sir Paget! .. just too many lines .. (every other for sure) that i love .. so glad to read "Butterflies" .. good Lord in heaven .. you titled it butterflies .. and thank you for "lepidoptera" .. it goes in my "will never see it again in a poem book" .. well.. maybe not! i my just "think of it from nowhere in 10 yrs. and) .. claim it for my own .. such a lovely read!
E.

[Valentine]

This is different, you seem to be revealing a bit more of the character that you want us to believe you are. Having been somewhat acquainted with you these past few years I see something totally different in you and your writing ability. I find that whatever you write about it is unique and very interesting, reflecting off of your true genius. It is a pleasure to read your writes. Thank you for writing them. Valentine

[Marie]

Many of your women are lovely butterflies, true, but I've seen some black widow spiders among your cast. That's all right--they serve as contrast to chiffon-blown beauties.