{"id":8813,"date":"2008-01-25T11:18:22","date_gmt":"2008-01-25T16:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2008\/01\/25\/remembering-butterfly-haiku\/"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:53:33","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:53:33","slug":"butterfly-haiku","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2008\/01\/25\/butterfly-haiku\/","title":{"rendered":"butterfly haiku"},"content":{"rendered":"

O<\/strong><\/em>n the morning of my father’s recent funeral<\/a>, I learned why the Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home<\/a> Inc., in Rochester, New York, chose the monarch butterfly as its symbol. Before closing the casket, a funeral director gave each family member a silver-tone butterfly lapel pin. It quickly came to mean more to me than I had thought it would at the first moment the pin was placed in the palm of my hand (when I figuratively rolled my tear-filled eyes). To my surprise, I found myself touching the pin often throughout that day and the days since, making a quick connection to my Dad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

B&P uses a poem by Evelyn Phillips<\/a> to help express the butterfly symbol’s many facets. Because I prefer more indirect poetic explanations, I decided to bring together many of the butterfly-related haiku that have appeared here at f\/k\/a<\/em> over the past few years — written by our Honored Guest family<\/a> of haijin, and by myself. As good haiku should, they speak to us of many insights, emotions, and connections (not all sweet or maudlin), one butterfly moment at a time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

sunset stroll —
\nsearching snowbanks
\nfor butterflies<\/p>\n

…………………………………………. by david giacalone<\/a>
\n[in mem<\/em>., Arthur P. Giacalone]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“Monarch butterfly circle of life<\/a>” [by Peggy Greb & Stephen Ausmus, USDA] <\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n
\n

garden butterfly\u2013
\nthe child crawls, it flies
\ncrawls, it flies\u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

the flute-playing servant
\nis the village headman!
\nbutterflies dance<\/p>\n

borrowing an antler
\nthe butterfly
\nrests<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

window open\u2013
\na butterfly pulls my eyes
\nacross the field<\/p>\n

\n
\n

flecked with sand
\nfrom the whirlwind\u2026
\nlittle butterfly<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

…………………………………………………….. by Kobayashi Issa<\/a>,
\ntranslated by David G. Lanoue [hundreds more, here<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\n

hitchhiking
\nan orange moth fills
\nthe emptiness of Texas<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026 by ed markowski
\n– Mainichi News<\/em> (Sept. 2005)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

the butterfly\u2019s path \u2026
\nmy son swings again
\nand misses<\/p>\n

……………………….. by Tom Clausen
\n– Homework<\/em> (Snapshot Press 2000)<\/p>\n

\n

relaxing my arm
\nbutterfly
\non the bullseye<\/p>\n

……………………. by Michael Dylan Welch
\n3rd Place, Drevnoik Award 2004, Haiku Canada<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

eviction notice \u2014
\na moth ricochets
\nin the lampshade<\/p>\n

\n

insomnia
\nthe break-up
\nmoth by moth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

………………. by Alice Frampton<\/a>
\n\u201ceviction notice\u201d \u2013 The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> (March 2004)
\n\u201cinsomnia\u201d – The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> (Nov. 2003)<\/p>\n

\n

record heat \u2013
\na moth the color of heather
\non the heather<\/p>\n

…………………………………….. by Billie Wilson
\n– The Heron\u2019s Nest <\/em>VII:2 (2005)
\n<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

this butterfly
\nhas places to go
\nspring journey<\/p>\n

<\/blockquote>\n

one last teatime
\nfor the autumn
\nbutterfly<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

……………………….. by David G. Lanoue<\/a> .
\nfrom Dewdrop World <\/em>(2005)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

[orig.<\/a>] “Monarchs feeding” [Image source: Allen Montgomery, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]<\/p>\n

flitting butterfly
\nto Buddha\u2019s lap
\nreturns<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

yellow gang, white gang
\nthe butterflies stake
\ntheir claims<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

claiming
\nthe big sake cup\u2026
\na little butterfly<\/p>\n

………………………… by Kobayashi Issa<\/a>,
\ntranslated by David G. Lanoue<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

among the yellow roses
\nthe yellow butterfly
\ngrows still<\/p>\n

after the rain
\na white butterfly
\non the clothesline<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

……………………. by George Swede<\/a>
\n“among the yellow roses” – Almost Unseen<\/em> (Brooks Books, 2000)
\n\u201cafter the rain\u201d from Haiku Moment<\/em> (B Ross, ed, 1993) ; Inkstone<\/em> I:1 (1982)<\/p>\n

\n

my son noticing . . .
\nthe attention i pay
\nto butterflies<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

……………………………… by John Stevenson
\n– The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> \u2014 Vol. 1, #1 (1999):<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

a butterfly
\nso long at my window
\nsummer dusk<\/p>\n

the long night
\na kaleidoscope of moth parts
\nin the overhead lamp<\/p>\n

\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026. by Carolyn Hall<\/a>
\n“a butterfly” – The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> 9:1 (2007); Winner, The Snapshot Press Haiku Calendar Competition 2007
\n“the long night” – The Heron’s Nest<\/em> (IV:3, March 2002); Water Lines<\/em> (2006)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

the garden butterfly\u2013
\nmy daughter not close enough
\nthen too close<\/p>\n

one wing
\nfolded against the other\u2013
\ncolors of a dead butterfly<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

nowhere else
\nbut the next flower \u2013
\nafternoon butterfly<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

………………………………………… by Gary Hotham<\/a>
\n“the garden butterfly” – The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> (Sept. 2001)
\n\u201cone wing\u201d – The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> (Dec. 2001)
\n\u201cnowhere else\u201d – The Heron\u2019s Nest<\/em> (May 2004)<\/p>\n

\n

mountain butterfly
\nfrom her boulder
\nto mine<\/p>\n

…………………….. by randy brooks
\n– Modern Haiku<\/em> XXXI:2; glimpse of red: rma 2000<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

drowned moth
\nthe wax hardens
\naround it<\/p>\n

<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font> …………. by Jim Kacian
\nfrom Presents of Mind<\/em>, haiku and illustrations<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

fluttering madly\u2014
\nbutterfly in the slipstream
\nof a passing freight<\/p>\n

\n

legs pawing
\nin the summer wind\u2014monarch
\nin the wiper blade<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

………………………. by Lee Gurga<\/a> from Fresh Scent<\/em><\/p>\n

dwindling heat
\na butterfly lengthens
\nthe rosevine<\/p>\n

…………………………………………….. by roberta beary
\n– Hermitage<\/em> 2006<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

A clear hot day \"butterflyN\"<\/font><\/font>
\nthe silence
\nbehind the butterfly<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Windblown curtain\u2013
\nfrom a fold, a white moth
\nflutters out into moonlight<\/p>\n

……………………….. by Rebecca Lilly<\/a>,
\nfrom Shadwell Hills<\/em> (Birch Prees Press, 2002)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

flitting from
\nwatercolours to oils
\na butterfly<\/p>\n

beneath work
\ni haven’t finished
\na trembling moth<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

……………………………. by Matt Morden<\/a>
\n“flitting from” – Morden Haiku<\/em><\/a> (Aug. 29, 2007)
\n“beneath work” – Morden Haiku<\/em> (June 16, 2006)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

p.s<\/strong><\/em>. I’ve created a butterfly haiku memorial collection for Papa G.<\/a>, which is a Word document that you can print from this website, to create a two-sided, trifold brochure. It contains most of the poems found above.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On the morning of my father’s recent funeral, I learned why the Bartolomeo & Perotto Funeral Home Inc., in Rochester, New York, chose the monarch butterfly as its symbol. Before closing the casket, a funeral director gave each family member a silver-tone butterfly lapel pin. It quickly came to mean more to me than I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-haiku-or-senryu"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-2i9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8813"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12360,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8813\/revisions\/12360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}