Noticing the Wounded Butterfly

The wound is the place where the Light enters you. ~ Rumi

Did you capture the curve of her subdued smile,

her kind demeanor, whisper soft and simple,

the way she enchants with the sweetest beguile

with the sister smile of a charming dimple?

Did you notice how fair her porcelain skin,

the blue-sky windows in the orbs of her eyes,

how fragile she seems, so incredibly thin,

with her heart on her sleeve, both wondrous and wise?

 

Did you hear lament in the back of her laugh

like a summer rain in the penchant of June

whose echoes resound like pitiless chaff

or night without the light of a starry moon?

Did you see how she blushed with nothing to say

when you asked her if she had weathered the storm,

how she shed a tear and then wiped it away

for rising alone is her standard and norm?

 

Did you notice how she embraced the quiet,

hugging herself as she walked along the beach

running from her shadow, though she’d deny it?

She rises even higher, just beyond reach.

Did you see the sun as it danced in her hair,

encircling her body with a golden glow;

how she held a flower with the gentlest care

whose petals were speckles of snowiest snow?

 

Did you know that she is untouchably strong

and irreducible in so many ways?

She is spirit of sapphire skies and green song,

the pulse of a lifetime is penned in her days.

I watch her reaching across portals of time,

beauty spun into words and words into wing.

Page after page, she is exalted in rhyme.

A wounded butterfly is a lovely thing.

Author's Note

Reviews

[Ken Simm.]

I know this beauty. Probably not the same one you do but with similar beautiful markings.

[Betty Hermelee]

This so brilliantly crafted...every word has an incredible meaning.... and although she shows off a smile, there are some sad components to her being....I love the way you ask the reader "did you know that?" in almost every phrase, as if you want the reader to know everything about her....and at the end you show us that she is strong, timeless and that she may have some flaws but she overcomes them, like "Wounded butterfly" Excellent!
Best, B

[willweb]

Beautiful texture in this one, soft patterns pull the reader in to sit and read. Though the tint once again is somewhat sad, the beauty of your words, the smoothness of your rhymes and the cadence allow us to feel, breath and dream and perhaps forget that life truly is sad in most respects. We may feel happy but I don't believe true happiness exists. The wounded butterfly. Hoping it heals, hoping it flies again, hoping it finds love. It would be nice if more people would read this but...

[Lorry]

The life lived is rarely the picture others perceive when they see beauty, like its a cure all for sorrow. Yet we assume their life must be happy and sorrow bypasses those we think beautiful, where reality touches everyone's lives and sadness and even loneliness can afflict anyone and everyone.
Surely it would be kinder and fairer to ask if they are okay, rather than just assume everything is sweet in their garden.
We've all heard the phrase putting a brave face on, yet when looking at a painting or photo of someone, we just jump to conclusions and think everything must be great in their "perfect" life.
Yet we know deep down that ain't how real life ™ works.
Beautifully captured Linda. Seeing beyond the editing tricks of life and looking beyond the skin deep.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

everything about this is magic...beauty in the words, pictures and melody, all combining
to show an almost happiness that is slightly tinted with sorrow.
Makes us want to reach out and soothe the butterfly's Heart.
j.

[John the Baptist]

The last stanza may be an indication of autobiography in this one. The subject is one who has been wounded but endures, and, as the nod to Rumi suggests, grows as the result of pain. The rhyming and word choice are impeccable. You are definitely one of the best traditional poets on the site.