The Flight of the Butterflies


The Flight of the Butterflies

They were flitting over the sea, entering and exiting each other's orbits like two satellites searching for the same signal. They crossed invisible yet obvious paths in the sky over the sea. They were graceful and seemed in love, so much so that they spiraled toward each other endlessly.
They were so lovely that it took me a minute to realize why the sight stood out, apart from their inherent beauty. Then, it hit me: two butterflies fluttering their ivory wings over a feild was a common sight. The same gossamer creatures circling over a sea where they couldn't land was quite another.
Why were they doing their mating dance over the sea? How had they gotten there? I had seen similar specimen glibly gliding over the flowers planted in the nearest plaza, and was equally as entranced by them. But the plaza was pretty far away for a tiny butterfly. Had they flown all the way to the beach to catch a glimpse of the vastness of the sea, maybe to take a chance on their fortunes here?
If  I were a butterfly, I might follow the sent of sea water, too...if nothing else then for the sense of adventure, of getting out of that tight flowerbed, always amidst the same colony of butterflies, as lovely as they might be.
I hope with all my heart that they found a good landing place....maybe a soft spot of sand or a kind soul's blanket. It's the same I wish for all us butterflies...


Photo: <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/nennieinszweidrei-10084616/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6489345">Annette Meyer</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=6489345">Pixabay</a>

Text: Kristen Mastromarchi 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Souvenir

Image
Souvenir It is oh so luxurious to the touch, oh so enticing to the eyes. The suaveness of it, the mauve melding with the fuchsianess of it entrances me even now. There is only one time I remember wearing it, yet I still love it today. I love the feeling as I run my fingers over it, the connection to the totally foreign world from which it comes. Let me go back to the beginning, to the occasion I bought it for and maybe the only time I have and will wear it. We were in China, specifically in Daqing, the oil capital of the country. This was the most eye-opening, significant trip I've ever taken. The juxtaposition of things that boggled my mind (like the oil museum) with the incredible culture (like the Forbidden city in Beijing) still fascinates me.  We were in a very modern mall, trying to get the final details for my good friend's wedding. She had decided to have the wedding she had always wanted back in her homeland, and the dress code was pretty specific. (No bare shoulders o...
Read more

The After Carnival

Image
  The After Carnival The lights were still on, but the machinery mimicked the insides of houses at that moment: ground down to a halt, the gears in off position. Shadows in human forms moved the air in front of café's yet to open. The idea of lights–this time bright white–contrasted with the solid shapes of humans yet to enter into that waking space. A person pauses in an entrance with a hood over her head, a shadow looking toward the light. Her hands grab onto the shape of an ivory umbrella which was to be set up outside, Moments before, a bulldog had been bathing his head in a pool of light from another open door. The rest of him had been hunched over in the dark, concentrating on his first poo of the day. I assume his owner was waiting to collect it–although the protagonist of the scene was the dog...the human only a hazy sketch in the background. Even people waiting on the side of the road seemed painted into the morning–already anticipating it in the dimensions of a bus almost...
Read more

Me vs. the Sea

Image
Me vs. the Sea It happened last week. It was powerful and frightening–the stuff that stories are made out of. I was rolling in the sea. No, more like I was being pummeled by the sea. Liters and liters of it poured over my head, pouncing on me and then drawing back. I knew not to panic: hadn't I learned anything from lifeguard training?  Shouldn't I just stand up and put my feet on the sand? Instead, I reached my hand over my hand, instinctively searching for a sense of up because down had fallen away from me. I suddenly knew why people drown: it's easy to be sucked in by the power of the sea's pushes and the loss of a sense of direction. I needed to breathe. All of a sudden, the surface surfaced as my hand stuck out. I pushed up and gulped air before the sea rolled in again.  I staggered to my feet but another wave crashed into me, pulling me under again. This time the water was shallow enough for me to find my ground. The sea was ferocious. I just wanted to get out uns...
Read more