2012 – Robert P. Felker Award for most poetic essay.

Cherry Tomatsu , Missouri.

The Butterfly Teaches the Meaning of Life

I sit pondering
the meaning of
life.

A Monarch glides through
the vibrant garden to
gather nectar.

Nourished.

The peaceful
creature drifts on
to sprinkle pollen
into the
bursting
magenta collection
of verbenas.

Pollinated.

Swooping.
Constantly fluttering.
Joined by others,
movement more
brilliant.

With stamen.
With pistol.

Entering the floral world.
With a different
beating pattern.

Opposite and symmetrical.

One moving.
One rooted.
Cultivating.

Beginning as seeds.
The seeds of life.

Meant to flourish.
Life is full of seeds.

Traveling to the
next generation,
and the next,
and the
next.

A never ending circle of nature.

We look at the intertwining
of the black and orange.

We look.
We remember.
We become motivated
to live.

Live and spread.

The nectar-nourished
pollen delivered into
our minds.

Cultivate
the meaning of life
in the garden
of your mind.

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