Aviva Derenowski – Poet

Crushing a Butterfly

I saw my son crushing a butterfly. At that moment, he also crushed my heart.

What was wrong with him?

He was enraged and fearful. Expressing his rage, he ended the life of a beautiful monarch butterfly.

I approached him from behind and touched him lightly as if he were a butterfly. He shuttered, and his eyes were full of tears.

He turned around and threw his arms around me. His crying turned to sobbing.

I said, “Your father will come back. He’s in the hospital now, contributing to the virus cure. At the end of the day, he will be home.”

My voice soothed him, and he sighed in relief. He trusted me the way I trusted nature. It is all for the good.

He picked up the remains of the butterfly and buried it in a little hole in the ground, adding a prayer from his heart. “Forgive me, dear friend. I didn’t know what I was doing.”

Crushing a Butterfly
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