Wisdom                                                            


            I’m not particularly squeamish
            Nor sentimental
 
            The array of Lepidoptera,
            The term my host preferred,
            Relishing the syllables on his tongue,
            Made an impressive register
 
            Neat as a multiplication table
            And far more colourful
 
            I was, I admit, fascinated,
            Especially by the scales,
            Their role in brilliance, flight,
            Camouflage and even scent
 
            Nothing of which we’d know,
            He patiently explained,
            Had we not taken the trouble
            To capture and affix
 
            It was the pinning down,
            I mused, that led to wisdom
 
            Of course another point of view
            Would show that butterflies,
            Like lovers,
            Were never at their best
 
            At rest


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            Emanuel E. García, Leaf Thoughts, One Hundred Poems2013

          author's video reading