The Butterfly Is Me

Written February 23, 2003

Wrapped in the chrysalis safe and warm

There is a life being nurtured, about to transform.

Wintering away on the branch of a tree

A miracle of nature is waiting for me.

The eggs were laid and the caterpillar was born

She shed her skins in the warm autumn morn

And after a while when the time was just right

She cloaked herself in a pupa for the long winter’s night.

The earth begins to warm and springtime arrive

With beauty and vibrancy, nature comes alive.

The butterfly emerges from its tight little world

To flutter and fly with her wings unfurled.

To be who she is has not been without pain

But to break out her safe world is how she can gain

Gain the freedom to live in the rain and the sun,

The freedom to be all that she will become.

Her colorful wings allow her to take flight

To taste the nectar of the flowers and bushes so bright

She is so delicate, but ever so strong

As she takes her place where she belongs.

The butterfly is a symbol for me

My totem, my strength; it allows me to be free

The struggles and hardships of finding myself

Help me, as the butterfly, to appreciate the wealth.

The wealth is the earth with its flowers and trees

The mountains and deserts, the sun and the breeze

The colors, the rivers, the lake and the stream