E is for Entomology: The Study of Bugs
I remember
the postage stamp garden
I remember
water mellon rinds, on the garden heap
oozing fermented, bubbling juice
I remember
I remember reading -
butterflies taste with their feet
I remember
black and blue flutterbys
With extended proboscis
I remember
butterflies staggering
too drunk to fly.
*Flutterbys, kaleidoscope, rabble are all words that mean a swarm or group of butterflies.
I remember
the postage stamp garden
I remember
water mellon rinds, on the garden heap
oozing fermented, bubbling juice
I remember
A kaleidoscope of butterflies
Sipping, water mellon wine
I remember reading -
butterflies taste with their feet
I remember
black and blue flutterbys
With extended proboscis
I remember
butterflies staggering
too drunk to fly.
*Flutterbys, kaleidoscope, rabble are all words that mean a swarm or group of butterflies.
"I remember
ReplyDeleteA kaleidoscope of butterflies
Sipping, water melon wine"Love that line with a kaleidoscope of butterflies...I loved butterfly watching, identifying, and chasing. And sometimes they would land on my hand and I would watch them extend their long proboscis to my skin. It seemed like a kind of butterfly handshake.
I wish I had had this on Monday for a non-fiction poetry lesson. It would have been great for the students to see how poetic one can be with some knowledge and observations. Love the 'staggering/too drunk to fly'. Did they really seem to act like that? And 'postage stamp' garden leaves me with so many questions, Ruth. A poem that is very nice to read!
ReplyDeleteHaving them land on your hand must have been so thrilling! I have always liked to watch them.
ReplyDeleteIt was thrilling. There were some butterflies that seemed to me to be playing with me, in that they would fly off a little ways from me, land and wait until I got close, then fly just a bit further and stop and wait for me again. They were the ones I knew would let me hold them in a bit, if I just played their game. Maybe they were the ones who'd been into the watermelon wine somewhere! But I just know some were friendly like that.
ReplyDeleteThey staggered, and listed back and forth. That was probably the only reason I was able to get so close and see the extended proboscis. It was amazing to see. I have only seen it the one time.
ReplyDelete