{"id":2215,"date":"2016-04-16T11:39:18","date_gmt":"2016-04-16T16:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/?p=2215"},"modified":"2016-04-16T11:39:18","modified_gmt":"2016-04-16T16:39:18","slug":"poem-when-butterflies-arent-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toppun.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/16\/poem-when-butterflies-arent-free\/","title":{"rendered":"POEM: When Butterflies Aren’t Free"},"content":{"rendered":"

The butterfly has landed<\/strong>
\nA monarch of unspoiled nature<\/strong>
\nAs we’d taken over<\/strong>
\nUrban land escapes<\/strong>
\nOf green carpet bombing<\/strong>
\nConvinced that lawn enforcement<\/strong>
\nMust be<\/strong>
\nOn our side<\/strong>
\nSow naturally lying<\/strong>
\nIn trails<\/strong>
\nOf never ending growth<\/strong>
\nA cancer<\/strong>
\nGiven the bird<\/strong>
\nTo seed<\/strong>
\nAnd unkept dirt<\/strong>
\nIn wild life<\/strong>
\nA refuge from sow called civilization<\/strong>
\nWhen butterflies aren’t free<\/strong>
\nAs sum<\/strong>
\nHow we are frayed<\/strong>
\nToo<\/strong>
\nLook out<\/strong>
\nThe blinds<\/strong>
\nAt nothing more<\/strong>
\nThen a sterile guardin’<\/strong>
\nOf mother nature<\/strong>
\nMissing awe<\/strong>
\nThe flap about roil visitors<\/strong>
\nImmaculate preconceptions<\/strong>
\nAnd unworthy neighbors<\/strong>
\nTaking flight<\/strong><\/p>\n

This poem is inspired by my unkempt and unpoisoned backyard.\u00a0 The memory is blazoned in my mind of reveling in the wildlife frolicking there being gleefully trumped by the serendipitous and regal appearance of a Monarch butterfly just feet from my face.\u00a0 \"The<\/a>Thankfully, my neighborhood is much more free from widespread lawn poisoning than many Toledo neighborhoods.\u00a0 I reel a bit whenever I see a lawn poisoning sign — yet another mourning representative of the sow called dawn of civilization.<\/p>\n

I have a high tolerance for clutter and the apparent chaos of the wild we call nature.\u00a0 I feel somewhat deprived and spiritually constipated\u00a0amidst meticulously ordered lawns and landscaping, particularly when I know their maintenance requires poisons.\u00a0 Such attention to pain staking order oft strikes me as an attempt to safely fence and order our external environment to address whatever felt chaos there may be in our life.\u00a0 Also, I suspect that we too easily resort to the violence of poisons to enact our sense of order in the world, particularly when we are willing to surround our very homes with poison.\u00a0 Awe of this was told me bye a little birdy and angelic butterfly.\u00a0 May we find a way to live in peace with awe of our neighbors.<\/p>\n

P.S. This poem employs the allusion to the play and movie, Butterflies Are Free<\/em><\/a>, about blindness and seeing, and misguided attempts at mothering:<\/p>\n

When butterflies aren’t free<\/em>
\nAs sum<\/em>
\nHow we are frayed<\/em>
\nToo<\/em>
\nLook out<\/em>
\nThe blinds<\/em>
\nAt nothing more<\/em>
\nThen a sterile guardin’<\/em>
\nOf mother nature<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The butterfly has landed A monarch of unspoiled nature As we’d taken over Urban land escapes Of green carpet bombing Convinced that lawn enforcement Must be On our side Sow naturally lying In trails Of never ending growth A cancer … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57,9,15],"tags":[294,442,481,359,438,377,509,379,594,658,94,19,163],"class_list":["post-2215","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-peace","category-poems","category-political-and-philosophical-musings","tag-awe","tag-chaos","tag-environment","tag-life","tag-mind","tag-mother-nature","tag-mourning","tag-nature","tag-play","tag-poems","tag-poetry","tag-toledo","tag-violence"],"yoast_head":"\nPOEM: When Butterflies Aren't Free | Peace, Poems, Political and Philosophical Musings | Top Pun's Poetry, Funny Puns, Free Posters, Public Health Radio Show! 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