Yesterday, falling short of my daily writing goal, I failed to publish my blog. I worked on it, of course, but it failed to come together as I wanted, in part due to time spent looking for my own photos to share on the post. This morning I was able to finish it. I wrote about monarch tagging and the monarch life cycle. Raising monarchs has been a hobby of mine since 2003 and I’ve been tagging since 2014. Being a conservationist means that I am constantly working to save or preserve our natural world. The monarch is an iconic species of concern and I take both pride and pleasure in doing my part to ensure its survival.
Usually, my actions include habitat restoration and conservation, as well as community education regarding the life cycle of this species. But, as I was thrilled to tag and release my first monarch of the migration season this morning, I was overcome with poetic thoughts and phrases. Nature often has that effect on me, today was no different.
What I ended up with was a poem about the monarch’s journey as it left me this morning, what its life will be like for the next few months (with any luck), and the return of a creature that both amazes and inspires me to take care of our earth home.

An August Monarch
Oh, monarch, my monarch,
Today you will fly
On wings that take you oh, so high.
Through my yard, and around the bend
Sipping on colorful flowers that will help send
You on your journey to a land far away,
Keeping you nourished so when you arrive you can stay,
In the oyamel fir trees on the mountains so high,
Of Central Mexico you’ll rest but not lie,
Waiting for the winter months to pass quickly by.
When mother nature signals it’s time to zoom,
Around the month of March, I assume,
Then, I know soon you’ll come back to me.
You won’t make it far, not as far as you went,
But, laying eggs all the way on your Northern assent.
Assures me a relative of yours to visit my yard,
Where I’ve prepped and preened so you can let down your guard.
Home again, where you can stay
Amongst the milkweed and flowers
Planted so you can lay
Many new eggs from caterpillars grow
All on my milkweed that’s not in a row.
The cycle will start all over again,
While I say goodbye to you today
oh, dear monarch friend.
I know your future son or daughter will visit my glen.

Today’s Poetry Friday roundup is brought to us by the blog Pleasures from the Page! For more inspiring poetry please check out the roundup on her post. Thank you for hosting!
Your poem and previous post have taught me so much today. I love how you say goodbye and anticipate a future visit from your butterfly’s progeny. What a amazing steward you are of “our earth home” and these incredible creatures. Thank you for your work and this poem.
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Thank you so much! I am glad you were able to both enjoy and learn from the poem and post.
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Butterflies are such poetry, aren’t they? I love imagining generations of butterflies visiting you. Send them my way next, ok?
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LOL. I wish I could! It’s been such a slow season here. More swallowtails than monarchs. Thanks for reading and for the comments!
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Carol, I am thrilled to read about your ventures as a conservationist. When I stayed at Hershey Inn last fall, I traveled into the butterfly room with my granddaughter. After she left, my son and I spoke with the ladies in charge and they told us all about their efforts to bring the beauty of nature to the public. The entire room was filled with butterflies and the back room was the tagging area. It is fascinating. I love your photos and the poem.
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Ohhh, that sounds wonderful! Yes, I am serious about nature – even got a second advanced degree in Environmental Education. To me, if we can instill the wonder and awe in people for our natural world and all that it holds, we would have a better chance at saving our earth. Thanks for your kind comments!
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What a gorgeous butterfly! The color and patterns on those wings! It must be hard to let them go. I learned so much from your poem which expresses the wonder and the miracle the Monarch’s life is. Great post.
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I also think they are beautiful! I’ve never had much problem letting them go because they belong to nature. I’m glad you enjoyed the poem and saw the miracle in the life of the monaarch. Thank you!
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