Butterfly Cinquain
one rent
butterfly wing
cripples more severely
than a hominid's broken leg;
it's more
akin to a torn, struggling heart
that beats impotently
in desperate
flutters
#TankaTuesday
The above butterfly cinquain was written for Colleen M. Chesebro’s ‘Tanka Tuesday’ prompt. Poets were prompted to employ this particular poetic form, which Colleen explains.
Let’s write poetry together!
When it comes to partnership, some humans can make their lives alone – it’s possible. But creatively, it’s more like painting: you can’t just use the same colours in every painting. It’s just not an option. You can’t take the same photograph every time and live with art forms with no differences.
–Ben Harper (b. 1969)
Would you like to create poetry with me and have a completed poem of yours featured here at the Skeptic’s Kaddish? I am very excited to have launched the ‘Poetry Partners’ initiative and am looking forward to meeting and creating with you… Check it out!
The Skeptic's Kaddish 🇮🇱 
With such a short life… a torn or rent wing makes continuing just that much harder.
Somewhere hidden in perhaps undeveloped film I actually took a photo of an albino luna moth that had a damaged wing. Nature sometimes seems cruel. But we need to let life cycles of insects be.
A painted lady like the one in the image actualy has some color to indicate to the birds that it might be nasty to eat – though that is just its camiflage 🙂 So maybe that butterfly will have just a little more time…
wow, Jules – you sure know your stuff! how cool 😀
I just like to look into things like flowers, bugs and butterflies. When my children were younger we grew painted ladies and let them go. We also found a Monarch catterpillar and watched it – so beautiful to see those cocoons up close. We let the Monarch go to 🙂
Extraordinary, David. So poignant, so beautiful. 🦋
💕 thanks, Gwen 💕
Very poignant David and I hate finding wounded butterflies in the garden and try to put them somewhere safe if I can.. x
❤ Sally ❤ ~ I really appreciate that. Yeah… there's nothing quite so fragile as a butterfly with a damaged wing…
Poignant imagery that moves you!
💛 Sujata 💛
You captured the life journey of a butterfly so well, David. My daughter raises butterflies and it always breaks her heart when one is born with a malfunctioning wing. They don’t last long, but she stays with them to the end. ❤
🥰 Colleen 🥰 ~ wow, that’s amazing. How long has your daughter been doing that? Is it a hobby?
She’s become quite the gardener. She plants all the native plants the monarch butterflies love and then helps to set them free. She lives in Florida and has quite a jungle planted in her backyard.
😲 Colleen 😲
“that beats impotently”… What a great connection between the butterfly wing and a struggling heart. Brilliant, David! 🙂
✨🙏🏻✨ Yvette ✨🙏🏻✨
Beautifully, painfully depicted. Ah, how I adore your talent, David.
💓 George 💓
💖 beautiful imagery 💖
🧡 Cindy 🧡