Butterflies and Birds

What the heck.  A return from my hiatus with something new for 2020...

Butterflies and birds -

cute and fragile,

tough and agile.

We watch them

flit and whistle

through shingle, 

leaf and thistle.

We buy cards,

share pix,

print their delicate,

flying images

on fabrics,

wind chimes,

summer dresses.

But twice a year 

the gossamer 

and feathered

launch on

epic journeys

without ice chest,

cell or GPS.

From arctic to tropic

they soar and skip

over white peaks

and white caps,

across frozen tundra,

desert dune,

and night’s black.

Through predator

and pesticide,

hunger and hunter,

smog and typhoon,

some veer and fall

while millions more

hold true..

Beside these wonders 

the macho we

of rasping trucks,

weapons, drinks,

and road rage

seem pale, wan,

and sedentary

We bluster

in our macho,

they hear the call

of ancient,

we break down

in curse and fight,

they give all

and take to sky.