[Alaizabel Cray]

((Well, this poem of mine just got published in an anthology deal (Inspirations: A Collection of Short Works, lol) that actually isn't hard to get into, but hey, I'm one of 250 people in the nation with a poem in that book so I'm pretty excited either way. Not sure why I'm posting it here other than that I just officially love this poem.))


A single Monarch butterfly
floats so-silent-soft to earth;
carried by the breeze
to land on my outstretched hand.

Gazing at the majestic painted wings,
I am consumed by memories:
of releasing Monarchs in remembrance of
your free spirit,
and of the one butterfly
that would not leave, clinging to me.

"That's Ally!"
Mom had said.
I blink, and no longer see the insect,
but your face, the
angelic features that I have missed.

You smile at me,
warm brown eyes all aglow,
and I can't help but smile in return.

Looking up, I find myself
not in my world,
but in yours:
a world of indescribable and unimaginable beauty.

Your small, warm hand grasps mine,
pulling me down a path
lined by glittering butterflies.

"Follow me!"
I do, and on the way we talk,
me of home,
and you of Heaven.

Being around you after all this time
becomes too much, though,
and tears blur my vision, threatening to spill.

You smile up at me,
"Please don't cry"
and I see that you are near to tears yourself.

Always the protective older sister,
I manage to stay my tears
and throw my arms around your tiny frame.

"I thought I'd never see you again,"
my voice is barely a whisper.
You look me straight in the eye.
"I'll never leave you," you promise.
"Never!"

Looking farther down the path,
I spot a door of light,
shimmering gloriously ahead.

"What is that?" I ask you.
Smiling still, you reply:
"That is where I live,
where I must go."

And in a flash of light, you are through the door,
and I know I cannot cross with you.
I don't belong here.

All of a sudden, I'm back where I started,
the Monarch gracefully fluttering
upward, circling my head
before disappearing into the sky above.

"Why couldn't you just stay here?" I ask,
although I already know the answer.

You were not meant to live here on Earth,
just as I could not follow you into Heaven.
Remembering your promise, I smile to myself.
Some day, I will pass through that door,
but not today.