Ode to a Butterfly

Does nectar grow less sweet with passing Time?
Your unrest causes winds to slow their pace
The beating of your wings in pantomime
Now paints your tale of ephemeral grace
Ignoble glutton, laying green to waste
But hiding dreams behind a devil's face
A treacherous wait, a caterpillar's haste
One day to be absolved of its foul crime
To savour long and deep, Redemption's taste

Then patient weaving till the world is sealed
And all of its travails are shunned by silk
In pale confines a soul entombed and healed
An infant feeding on Compassion's milk
Like Tutankhamen's crypt, a sleep of kings
Embracing pleasures of a different ilk
A prayer to solicit a gift of wings
A prowess yet unknown to be revealed
A promise of unbridled wanderings

And what became of that eternal thirst?
Full seven days of dancing on the breeze
The fleeting days too short to fear the worst
The heart too warm for lakes of lust to freeze
But now the beating of that heart is slow
Performing in the shadows of the trees
The age-old sacred rite of letting go
Oblivious to springtime's rich outburst
In tune with twilight's ever fading glow

And so you're tired of your resplendence!
As your mind spins another chrysalis
A shattered shell remains of what was once
A flowing fountain of untainted bliss
And so you choose to kiss the earth goodbye
A transcendental metamorphosis
To break the shackles of the deep blue sky
To taste Ambrosia and to steal a chance
The breathing of Existence to espy
 

Author's Note

Tutankhamen was an ancient Egyptian pharoah, or king. Egyptian kings were mummified and buried in burial chambers inside pyramids along with several of their valuable possessions.

Reviews

[Aleeya R]

This is absolutely beautiful. I read it multiple times in one sitting. It reminds me of John Keats' Ode to a Nightingale - one of my favorites, and I am guessing yours as well? Not only did you emulate his style of writing, but you took it and made it your own. I'm impressed with your use of meter (I still struggle with it, which is why I usually stick to free verse) and with the imagery you used to bring your poem to life. You possess incredible talent, and I do hope you keep writing - I am looking forward to reading more of your work!

[Augustus]

Thank you so much for your astute and generous review, Aleeya! Yes, I am a big fan of Keats, and shades of the characteristic melancholic tone of his poems seems to have made its way into mine. I struggled with meter myself for many years before I got the hang of it. But it was quite rewarding to get there eventually. Metered verse gives a different kind of pleasure from free verse. I've tried both and enjoy both. I'll look at your works soon. Thanks again!

[Aleeya R]

You're welcome! Yes, Keats' poems are lovely, I too am a fan. I agree, metered verse is pleasing to the ear, though difficult to write. Hopefully with time I will be able to produce a poem in meter. Until then, it's free verse for me - but I appreciate and enjoy reading all types of poetry. Anyway, can't wait to read more of your works! You're welcome again, take care!

[Ken Simm.]

I mean this a true compliment. You were born out of time. Either that or you are receiving the thoughts of a dead Byron across the ether. This really does stand its own with any of the works of the romantic age.
This poem is proclaimed rather than written. And if written it should be inked on fine parchment rather than a screen. Again I mean that as the truest compliment I can give this fine work.
You work in a tradition, but you use that tradition as well as any I have read. And in doing so you give the work a gravitas and impact more modern works simply do not have.

[Augustus]

Wow Ken! I'm so delighted by your kind words. As you said, I do work in a tradition. What I have always been uncertain about is whether or not I'll be able to do justice to that tradition. Judging by your review, I have succeeded in some measure. :) Indeed, modern poetry has its own charm and strong points, but I feel too many modern poets and critics are rather dismissive of structured verse, often branding it "old fashioned". I can't hope to bring the Romantic Age back to English poetry, but I do hope that my poetry will make modern poets think a little more about structured verse and what makes it effective, instead of rejecting it outright. In this context, I am extremely glad you brought out the point about gravitas and impact. If I manage to kindle even a few minds, I'd feel very satisfied indeed.
I thank you once again from the bottom of my heart for your generous and insightful review.

[Frieda P]

Stunning read, just takes your breath away, bravo!

[Augustus]

Thank you Frieda! :)

[Pete Langley]

Beautiful, beautiful. A classic poem, Shreyas....I am envious of your skill. EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS!!! P.

[Augustus]

Totally humbled, Pete! :) Tried a new structural pattern here.... Nine lined stanzas in iambic pentameter with the rhyme scheme ababcbcac. Wonder if some old poet has done it before...

[Pete Langley]

I can`t find anything stereotypical, but one guy that messed with form all the time was Alfred Lord Tennyson. I`ve looked through his stuff and he uses nine liners, but the ones I`ve found so far are coupleted with the last three lines rhymed. Maybe Coleridge?

[Ken Simm.]

I find this more Byronic than Coleridge but I stand to be a visitor from Porlock

[Pete Langley]

My old man stranded us halfway up Porlock in an old Austin Cambridge donkeys years ago, Ken.

[Ken Simm.]

Knock on someone's door who looked a bit preoccupied then Pete?

[jacob erin-cilberto]

his time was short lived, like the butterfly...

nice metaphor here...last two lines really got to me.

nice work.

[Augustus]

Thank you Jacob!