Blue Butterfly Day

I was feeling a bit depleted last weekend, so I decided to crack open my new volume of Robert Frost poems. Poetry makes me think. It makes me appreciate beauty-both written and visual. It makes me smile.

As I was skimming and paging through, I lighted upon Blue Butterfly Day. I had to read it because we had just spent an afternoon at our local botanical garden seeing the annual butterfly exhibition. It is glorious. (the exhibition) I love the way Robert Frost captured the essence of butterflies and their beauty and appeal.

It is blue-butterfly day here in spring, 

And with these sky-flakes down in flurry on flurry 

There is more unmixed color on the wing 

Than flowers will show for days unless they hurry. 

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing: 

And now from having ridden out desire 

They lie closed over in the wind and cling 

Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.

-Robert Frost

"but these are flowers that fly"

this butterfly is called the common morpho. There is nothing common about it vibrant blue hues.

"and now from having ridden out desire, they lie closed over in the wind..."

the common morpho resting and feeding. The underside of it's wings are almost as gorgeous as the upper side.

"there is more unmixed color on the wing than flowers will show for days unless they hurry..."

"but these are flowers that fly"

I love that our botanical garden starts featuring the butterflies right at the beginning of March. Before the flowers are up. (though I can see the greenery of my daffodils peeping out through the snow banks! Yes!) These fleeting, flitting, flying flowers remind me that spring is coming. It has begun it's slow and steady creep.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Happy Blue Butterfly Day!