Today’s unseasonably warm
weather reminded me of a beautiful moment.
FROM MY
NOTES 3/15/05
As I walked west on 19th St.
in front of my house, on one of the warmest Spring days in SF history, I slowed to
watch a beautiful butterfly--a painted lady--it flew up and slowly lit on my
left hand--stunned--I just watched and held my hand perfectly still. After a
time, it gently dropped to the warm sidewalk--maybe to catch some of the last
warmth of the day. I watched for a long time and then turned up the slightly
curving staircase to my front door. I could barely see to put the brass key
into the lock--tears filled my eyes and sped down my cheeks. An angel? A
departed spirit? I thought of the line from my love poem, Paradox,
Certainty
emerging
from
passion
Constancy
woven
of desire,
fantasy, hope
Catching
time as it flows
missing its
immediacy
Intricate
contingencies of love
cannot bear
stasis
Unsure waft
of a butterfly’s passing
as real as
death
Sadly, I did not have a photo of the painted lady (vanessa cardui), but love this photo from another Spring.
what a lovely memory! - what sensitive thoughts, what evocative poesies..and what a meaningful addition to your collection!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joan....I love this memory. An incredible day.
DeleteWow, powerful moment and powerful words. "Unsure waft", I love that.
ReplyDeleteThanks,Scott. One of my poet colleagues thought it was way over the top...I like, too!
DeleteI had this happen to me once - a butterfly landing on my hand in a parking lot in FL - I've never forgotten the experience. Also, when I biked to San Francisco nearly 9 years ago, I was seriously tiring climbing up a canyon in UT. Suddenly, Monarch butterflies surrounded me and the bike - they were migrating just as I was from one locale to another. It was an amazing experience. Your poem speaking of the paradoxes of love makes me think of the flow of life and how we sometimes think too far ahead instead of staying in the moment. Here are my favorite lines: Catching time as it flows
ReplyDeletemissing its immediacy
What an amazing experience with the monarchs! And then having one attracted to you in Florida. They are speaking to you! So glad you liked that line of the poem...it is very important to me and you hit it exactly. When we try to stop time, either living in the past or the present, I think we lose the moment.
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