The Treacherous Butterfly

Treacherous Butterfly

No matter what censure, no matter the talk,
nothing will cause the man to take stock
of each unbalanced act and nonsensical statement.
Nothing on earth can prompt the abatement
of whims that he tries to pass off as facts.
Who can measure what harm his spontaneous acts
have caused nation-wide and likewise to Earth?
He’s a treacherous butterfly whose wings give birth
to a hurricane violent in its effect—
its currents fanned wilder by his crazy sect.


Word prompts today are plant, treacherous, butterfly, censure and stock. Image by Arun Clarke on Unsplash , used with permission.

17 thoughts on “The Treacherous Butterfly


    Nice poem that says a lot, but I do not picture him as a beautiful gentle, harmless butterfly, fluttering around in a beautiful world of living color, gathering sweet nectar. I see him rather as a dark, hard shell, destructive Scarab. Not worshiped by ancient Egyptians, but rather by lame brain “red necks” who also see the world in mono-color. His only success being to take a smelly pile of poop, rolling it into useless balls, while walking backwards.


      1. SAM VOELKER

        Yes I considered that and also that a butterfly is just a worm with wings, but was only giving my opposite view of him doing more or less nothing constructive at all. Bet most people have their own view and it would be interesting to see more. I have also been thinking about the monocolor and it occurred to me that the bible is only black and white which covers you alluding to the sect in your butterfly poem.

        Liked by 2 people

  2. Christine Goodnough

    Though I’m taking a break from blogging per se, I’m doing a quick check of e-mails this morning. Your last thought about coming together for worse, or for storm reminds me of my own recent thoughts. Pardon me if I perpend a bit here. 🙂
    In Regina on July 1, 1912 watchers saw two storm systems heading toward each other. They collided with a huge bang over the Legislative Bldg, a funnel dropped down and destroyed most of Regina’s downtown.

    There have been times where, politically, two system came together, a tornado of consequences dropped down and wiped out so much of what was good. Evangelical Christians, when they get politically worked up, can be a storm system — and history shows that when they join forces with another “system” going in a different direction, no way can they control the direction of the consequences.

    The WCTU teamed up with the feminist movement (whose aims were quite different) to demand the right to vote so they could force in Prohibition, but the WTCU never dreamed that this’d be such a failure AND give organized crime such a foothold. Or that women would ever drink, or support war, etc. In time the strengthened feminist movement achieved everything the WTCU would have opposed.

    I wish with all my heart that Christians would think seriously about past lessons and be very careful who they join forces with. The resulting consequences may be quite the opposite of their good intentions.


  3. Christine Goodnough

    Thank you. I intend to. In a way I’m not so much worried about who your next President will be, as fearing a backlash against “evangelicals” because of who they’ve chosen to hang out with. “Judged by the company you keep,” and all??

    Liked by 1 person

    1. lifelessons Post author

      Well I think that backlash has already begun, not undeservedly, but their Christianity is not what is dominating their actions right now–it is their stubbornness and short-signtedness. I think people realize there are still Christians such as yourself who go by the beliefs and tenets of the religion instead of by the “show” of it. Not very well-expressed on my part. “Demonstrate what you profess to believe ” is what I’m trying to express.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Christine Goodnough

    Someday I’ll write a post abut “the biggest real estate swindle ever.” When Ev. Christians were sold on the idea that America is the new “Promised land.” Getting into politics, the Civil War, Prohibition, and a few other laws have been the spinoff from that thinking.



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