Odysseus and the butterfly.
Brave Odysseus regarded sea
in each direction. Bright and blue, the bowl
of sky relaxed upon the hazy lost horizon.
Land lay long beyond the vanishing point
of vision everywhere. The prison
of Odysseus stretched far as eye
could see all tones of circling blue.
He floated on his back and stared
at empty heaven with a speechless pang
and raised a weary arm.
And then a tiny miracle unveiled
its wings for gaunt Odysseus.
A black and yellow butterfly alighted right
between his anguished eyes and rested for
a heartbeat, fanning dazzling wings.
Odysseus began to laugh in awe,
which sent the creature back along its flitting way.
He looked from where it came and laughed again,
and courage flooded back into his heart;
and thus he sang inside his soul,
“This butterfly means land is near.
I saw this very kind, the kind I played
with as a boy at home around the lemon trees,
the ones whose wings I spread from tip to tip,
black head and back and shoulders; yellow wing
2007-11-25
14:00:05
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1 answers
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asked by
Anonymous
in
Poetry