Butterflies

She asked me how she had come to me

On a sunny afternoon,

She couldn’t remember anything,

Her memories had flown.

She looked in awe at the dress she wore

And the sparkles on her shoes,

‘I didn’t have any of these before,

But what have I got to lose?’

 

I had her in mind for a Faery Queen

Or maybe a party girl,

I hadn’t a plot to fit right then

But thought I’d give her a whirl.

She had such grace and a lovely face

So I thought she’d fit right in,

And later, plenty of colour for

My lepidoptera tin.

 

She flittered and fluttered about the field

While I got my butterfly net,

She’d probably still be fluttering

If I hadn’t caught her yet.

But that’s how I catch my characters

That I fit in every plot,

I chase them round and I bring them down

Whether they want, or not.

 

The women are always butterflies,

The men are usually moths,

I struggle to keep the women sweet

But sometimes they are Goths.

As long as they play their part so well

That the reader doesn’t twig,

That all my casts are butterflies,

The small parts and the big.

 

For villains I use the Death’s Head Moth

For his markings are so grim,

But the innocent girls in chiffon are

The first to let him in,

He’s mean and cunning, and not so sweet

As the ones he seeks to fool,

But I am only the writer, so

Their conflict is my gruel.

 

I need to go where the sun is bright

And they flutter in the breeze,

To hold my butterfly net upright

And pursue them through the trees.

Then one day soon in the afternoon

I shall write a plot that sings,

And catch me a lepidoptera,

The one with the brightest wings!

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Barbz]

The writer has the license, to set his visions free. He scribes not only for himself, great rhymes for you and me. His Butterflies, as he describes, with fairy dust and grace are quite opposed to darkened moths, with ugliness of face. You capture us with fantasy laced with fascination, and beg us to believe In your, times weird, imagination. Then I find, at other times, a softer side of you.....but I'm aware the twists you share....are no surprise to you........

[MomzillaNC]

I really enjoyed this unique perspective on poetic inspiration. It's intriguing and delightful.

[Zahra]

I need to go where the sun is bright
And they flutter in the breeze,
To hold my butterfly net upright
And pursue them through the trees.

wonderfully penned. interesting read