Flutterby for Life

Attractively alone sat an abandoned young lad,
He existed with charm though inside he was sad,
For behind the skin, lain a bruised soul and old hate,
It was a strong façade he merely acquired to alleviate,

The once innocent void blindly lacked passion and care,
And now was obsessed by a solo game of truth or dare,

One which plagued him, with a life of a drastic imbalance,
One that to the normal eye, was normal at first glance,
It ran long and it ran him dry, to continue running back and forth,
He seamlessly hid that he had forgotten what his very life was worth,

Then one fine summer’s day along came a social little butterfly,
From up above the heaven and down from the breezy sky,
She selflessly observed his allure as she softly fluttered by,
He didn’t know life’s beauty, which in turn made her cry,

She came down a bit closer, only drawn by her heart,
No fear or realization that the hate in his life could take part,
Then so gracefully fearless, she naively landed upon his hand,
And from that moment on, her life was in high demand,

Helplessly love struck and instantly thrown into a violent rotation,
She was naturally defiant, which led to a hopeless manifestation,
The slow demise of her pure innocence soon became her fate,
A fate unforeseen that she could no longer hide nor self-alleviate,

She was kept in his dusty pocket to solemnly wither away,
Only to be brought out into the world when he wanted to play,
He loved her flawless beauty and so he concealed her away from sight,
Smothered in displaced protection and selfish love, she yearned for flight,

Then one day while at play, with her stolen heart and a caged soul,
With her cherished remembrance of her freedom as a whole,
To escape she fluttered and fluttered and gave it every valiant try,
Only to realize, her once delicate wings were now too heavy to fly,

He found amusement in her attempted struggles to break away,
Snickering sarcastically, as he dusted her off and locked her away,
Not caring to have, nor fitting into, such heavy wings and tattered dress,
Once again downhearted, she slowly sunk back into her slow regress,

With time she grew ever so cold and felt ever more old,
For all the faded tales of her beauty had already been told,
Forced to relive the battle within, a never ending fight,
“Shall I sleep this night, or attempt to take flight?”

Author's Note

Let me know what you think. Suggestions and constructive criticism welcome. Thank you!

Reviews

[Sheila Kline]

Oh, this is just wonderful! Your story of this butterfly, and how she remains trapped, and keeps trying over and over again to get away to fly in beauty,....... only to remain trapped in the end.You weave a tale of love, with sorrow and tragedy, but that which we may take and compare the fantasy of it to our real world!
You have indeed told a most eloquent story!!
Sheila

[Pax Analog]

This poem so eloquently expresses the light touch of love's first arrival. And if that butterfly lightness is met with a net, or with a waiting collector's pin, then the heaviness of entrapment ensues.

It makes me think of the rock group Iron Butterfly, with that suggestion of some uncommon lift-off power, as if the butterfly had metamorphosed into a powerful jet.

It is also redolent of a light angel trapped by a dark demon. One thinks of the fierceness of a fusion, of a daimonic power of love and freedom, dispelling the dichotomy of light but vulnerable love, and dark but heavy possession.

It's a psychodramatic setting for a new level of integration.

The captor, covetous, lacks love and empathy. The captive lacks will and sufficient consciousness of self- worth.

She will fly, when she WILLS to fly. Wings to heavy to fly need muscle.

You delineate the dynamic's challenge well; one pulls for the strengthening of self-loving free will's flight.

[angelina neves]

powerful!

[Gandré]

thank you for entering my contest. Excuse me for getting to it with a delay.
hmm... very well done. a perfect message of being a trophy, this speed of this poem results in purposefully consistent syntax, imaginery tender and even grotesque, the character is possessed of its own awareness. I liked this ballade.

[Scarlett]

wow Allison eloquent and beautiful!!!!

Such a poignant poem, the butterfly could be any fragile girl trapped in a loveless relationship

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

I must say very impressive... such a powerful story of how many spread the disease... when one person is jaded they feel they can only be redeemed by doing it to another, it happens in many facets of life, especially child abusers... really great writing... the message make a great impact.