The Butterfly and the Phoenix

i. Waltz of Embers

Swirling cinders

Ash kissed timbers

Sitting up here in flickering reverie,

waiting for the wind to take what's left of me.

Pulsing tempo

Vibrant vibrato

I should've known when I climbed this tree

that the fire would eventually catch up to me.

Distant sky

Yearning cry

Soaring doves entreat, "Be free! Be free!"

But these flame-singed feathers will not support me.

 Hope redeemed

Distant dream

Gazing out at my kin in the cloud-strewn sea

I can't help but wonder... why couldn't that be me?

Wishful smile

Scarred exile

Scores of butterflies upon a breeze drift lightly

Fluttering tempest of ethereal wings surround me.

Destiny wrought

Perished thought

Oh, if only the creatures could perceive their beauty,

perhaps they'd share their secret with me.

Aimless pity

Sudden serendipity

Upon my nose, one of them lands suddenly,

posing a question somehow understood by me.

Cryptic words

Almost absurd

"If I so desperately desired these heavy chains freed...

would I willingly sacrifice a part of me?"

ii. Flight of the Phoenix

Moment's hesitation

Eternal damnation

A sudden gale blew it away before I could voice my plea.

"Gladly would I offer you any part of me!"

Breathless cry

Forsaken, why?

The creature rejoins its flock, dancing to an unheard melody

Not again, I cry - "Please don't abandon me!"

Opportunity lost

Unbearable cost

Reaching out, I lose my balance on the flimsy tree.

Plunging into open air, only the fire below me.

Raging contempt

Fragile attempt

Frantically beating useless wings in hopeless mimicry

Futile the effort proves as the inferno engulfs me.

Searing fire

Ritual pyre

Flesh consumed by the ravenous blaze completely

Agony replaced with a surge of energy around me.

Grand rebirth

Above the earth

The fire's damage to me repaired miraculously.

Does that mean I've given up some other part of me?

iii. The Butterfly's Secret

Binding accord

Purpose restored

Again from nowhere, the butterfly appears suddenly

"Before the winds separate us, what is it you've taken from me?"

Healing's price

Denied sacrifice

"But I didn't take anything, don't you see?

It was you that saved you, not any action from me."

Endeavored grandeur

Desolation's cure

"All I asked was if you were willing to be free.

No... if anything, it was Fear that paid your debt to me."

Unshackled burden

Chains undone

"With every moment, you begged for something grand to be.

Our secret is that real beauty slumbers within you and me."

Serene truth

Wisdom's proof

"Sometimes it just needs a little extra time to grow, you see.

But, with patience... every larva becomes a butterfly like me."

Author's Note

A few notes here. This is something of a spiritual successor to "Vicarious", and I'll be the first to admit there's a lot of experimental craziness going on here. It started off as just a brief bit of practice, and summarily grew out of hand over the course of a few days heavy editing. I'm not certain if I like the result, but I spent far too much time to simply let it die.