a few days ago, i went to the garden of our local park to take some pictures, something i have not been able to do for the past month or so. the flowers in the garden were awash in butterflies ~ big, beautiful, bold butterflies on steroids. i've never seen butterflies quite so large. i became completely hypnotized by their languorous, luscious beauty and carefree flight. it was heaven.
as i watched the butterflies sparkle in the air, i was reminded of a Rabindranath Tagore "Firefly" i intend to have engraved on my tombstone:
"The butterfly counts not months but moments,
and has time enough."
i may have taken a picture or two, but i fear they will be blurry. the butterflies never quite stopped beating their wings.
that evening it poured rain ~ a steady, strong rain coursing from the sky. this got me to wondering, and worrying about the butterflies. where do they go when it rains? how do they protect their delicate wings?
here's what i learned from the Children's Butterfly Website:
"Butterflies hide when it rains. They usually go to the same places they do for the night. Some butterflies hide under large leaves, some crawl down into dense leaves or under rocks, and some just sit head down on grass stems or bushes with wings held tightly. If the rains are exceptionally hard or of long duration, many of the butterflies become tattered or die."
recently i have been like the butterfly hiding from the rainstorms in my life. but yesterday, it finally stopped raining. yesterday, i learned that my husband is free of the cancer he has been valiantly battling for the past eight months.
today i emerge from under the leaves, head now up, and spread my wings to fly, once again, back into the sunlit sky. a bit battered and worn, you'll find me dancing with the flowers.
