Butterfy Charities - The Butterfly Sanctuary

BUTTERFLY POEMS

Butterfly Benediction
May the morning sun carress you,
The rains of change refresh you,
And the gentle breeze of His Spirit
Lift the wings of your transformation.

by Richard D. Breen, copyright 2003
Dedicated to my mother, Frances F. Breen, 81

Butterfly Memorial Poem
A rush of wings
they flutter high
to touch the sun
and kiss the sky
A butterfly
is with us now
No more a caterpillar
upon a leaf
(Person's Name) with angel wings
A soaring butterfly
with us they sing

by Lili Pintea-Reed copyright 2002
for the IBBA

BUTTERFLIES - PAPAGO
One day the Creator was resting, sitting, watching some children at play in a village. The children laughed and sang, yet as he watched them, the Creators heart was sad. He was thinking: These children will grow old. Their skin will become wrinkled. Their hair will turn gray. Their teeth fall out. The young hunters arm will fail. These lovely young girls will grow ugly and fat. The playful puppies will become blind mangy dogs. And those wonderful flowers-yellow and blue, red and purple-will fade. The leaves from the trees will fall and dry up. Already they are turning yellow. Thus the Creator grew sadder and sadder. It was in the fall, and the thought of the coming winter, with its cold and lack of game and green things, made his heart heavy. Yet it was still warm, and the sun was shining. The Creator watched the play of sunlight and shadow on the ground, the yellow leaves being carried here and there by the wind. He saw the blueness of the sky, the whiteness of some cornmeal ground by the women. Suddenly he smiled All those colors, they ought to be preserved. I'll make something to gladden my heart, something for these children to look at and enjoy. The Creator took out his bag and started gathering things: a spot of sunlight, a handful of blue from the sky, the whiteness of the cornmeal, the shadow of playing children the blackness of a beautiful girls hair, the yellow of the falling leaves, the green of the pine needles, the red, purple, and orange of the flowers around him. All these he put into his bag. As an afterthought, he put the songs of the birds in, too.
Then he walked over to the grassy spot where the children were playing. Children, little children, this is for you, and he gave them his bag. Open it; theres something nice inside, he told them. The children opened the bag, and at once hundreds and hundreds of colored butterflies flew out, dancing around the childrens heads, settling on their hair, fluttering up again to sip from this or that flower. And the children, enchanted, said that they had never seen anything so beautiful. The butterflies began to sing, and children listened smiling.
But then a songbird came flying, settling on the Creators shoulder, scolding him, saying: Its not right to give our songs to these new pretty things. You told us when you made us that every bird would have his own song. And now you've passed them all around. Isn't it enough that you gave your new playthings the colors of the rainbow? You're right, said the Creator. I made one song for each bird, and I shouldn't have taken what belongs to you. So the Creator took the songs away from the butterflies, and that's why they are silent. They're beautiful even so! he said.

Buck Conner
Member of the "Turtle Clan" - Lenni Lenape Society

For your memorial service releases, here is a beautiful poem
that can be used. People read this, then read Psalm 55: 6,
then release the butterflies. It brings solace and peace.

Linda Rogers.

I Am Always With You

When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn't tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.

I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you've given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
But now it is time I traveled on alone.

So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
That it is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.

I won't be far away for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear
All my love around you soft and clear

And then, when you come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and a "Welcome Home".

MY FIRST CHRISTMAS IN HEAVEN

I see the countless Christmas trees
around the world below
With tiny lights like Heaven's stars,
reflecting on the snow.

The sight is so spectacular,
please wipe away the tear
For I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.

I hear the many Christmas songs
that people hold so dear
But the sounds of music can't compare
with the Christmas choir up here.

I have no words to tell you,
the joy their voices bring,
For it is beyond description,
to hear the angels sing.

I know how much you miss me,
I see the pain inside your heart.
But I am not so far away,
We really aren't apart.

So be happy for me, dear ones,
You know I hold you dear.
And be glad I'm spending Christmas
with Jesus Christ this year.

I sent you each a special gift,
from my heavenly home above,
I sent you each a memory
of my undying love.

After all love is a gift more precious
than pure gold.
It was always most important
in the stories Jesus told.

Please love and keep each other,
as my Father said to do.
For I can't count the blessing or love
he has for each of you.

So have a Merry Christmas and
wipe away that tear.
Remember, I am spending Christmas with
Jesus Christ this year.

Nora Donston

LOOK THROUGH EYES OF HOPE AND SEE
A BUTTERFLY INSIDE THE CATERPILLAR, HOPE
KNOWS THAT BEAUTY IS WAITING TO BE
BORN IN THE UNLIKELIEST PLACES ...

Thea Miller Ryan

[The following extract from an article "Dali Greets the World" by Ben Martin appeared in the N.Y. Herald Tribune's magazine Today's Living for January 24, 1960, being a report of an interview with this famous artist:]

[Dali stated]: "If you will study the entire series of cards [he had painted] you will find one theme runs through most almost all - the butterfly. The butterfly is not present only because it is in itself a thing of beauty. It is present because to one of the greatest Spanish mystics, St. Theresa of Avila, the butterfly was the symbol of the soul.
The ugly, ungainly caterpillar, our body, enters a form of the grave, the cocoon. Out of this death emerges the butterfly--beautiful, free, no longer earthbound. To me, as to St. Theresa, the butterfly is the soul of man."

From Dan & Zane Greathouse:
A couple of weeks ago, we filled an order for a 22 year-old's funeral, and we received this poem from the funeral...
"A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam.
And for a brief moment its glory and beauty
belong to our world.
But then it flies on again,
and though we wish it could have stayed,
we feel so lucky to have seen it."
On the back of the paper it says:
"Today we celebrate life with the release of butterflies.
The animals you have been given will emerge from their envelopes and alight on your hand for a moment before flying off.
Butterflies, a symbol of life, and freedom, were always special to (name).
When instructed, please open the envelope and allow the butterfly to emerge on its own.
It may take a few moments for the beautiful creature to adjust to the light and temperature before it flies off.
These animals are natives, will thrive and insure the continuation of their species, keeping memory alive."

Messenger of God
Oh, Little Butterfly,
Messenger of God,
When I see you in the sky
I cannot help but nod.
You bring me respite
From grief and dispair
Everytime I see you
Sailing through the air.
You renew my faith
In all God's wondrous plan,
And I know it's all in FAITH,
Not in what I understand.

Kathryn Poland (4-12-01)

When you awaken in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of butterflies in joyous flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.

Unknown Author

A Symbol of Hope
A Symbol of Hope
A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam
And for a brief moment its glory and beauty belong to our world
But then it flies again
And though we wish it could have stayed...
We feel lucky to have seen it.

Unknown Author

Butterfly Wings
Author: Robin Fogle
Like a butterfly emerges
And unfolds its graceful wings,
A child grows and develops
With the love a mother brings.
I'm thankful for the times
When you encouraged me to try,
For God gave me my wings,
But, Mom, you taught me how to fly.

Supplied by Diane Bachelder
Wings of Wonder - Guam

As the Lord had finished creating the earth, something was missing so he chose pieces from all the flowers, threw them into the sky and blew life into them and the butterflies were born.

From an Easter service attended by
Penny Wilson of Monarch Meadows.

I BELIEVE I CAN FLY
They believe...be sensible
prepare now
save for the future
work hard while young
enjoy when old
no pain no gain

They believe...compromise
follow the crowd
stay within the lines
keep your head clear
keep your eyes straight
ahead
feet on the ground

What about now! what about roses? what about stars?
what about chasing rainbows, floating clouds, butterflies...
what about silver linings, serendipity, spontaneity...
what about moonbeams, sun-rays, raindrops?

I believe....
I believe I can cut my own pathway
I believe I can step off the edge and not fall
I believe I can close my eyes and follow my heart and soul
I believe I can walk in the rain and not get wet
I believe in today and have hope for tomorrow
I believe in dreams, I believe in me....

I believe I can fly!

by Cheri Filson

BUTTERFLIES
We all start as caterpillars
But slowly grow
Until one day
We are butterflies

As I have watched you grow,
I have seen you
Turn into a fine person
And a beautiful young woman

by Cheri Filson
Copyright, 1996 by Warren Hagey

NEW BEGINNINGS_ A FLIGHT IN THE SUN
That first bright step into the sunshine of life
begins with the opening of the family cocoon.
The caterpillar becomes a butterfly
spreading her wings into the world.

What she is today is but a tiny mirror.
of the transformation that is yet to come.
For with time, love, humor and warmth
She is an everchanging masterpiece.

Whether as wife, mother, career woman or all,
she will find her center of peace.
A place that is hers and hers alone,
the essence of what she is and will be.

Using the instincts that each of us have
to find the good in each other.
to be a caring friend, lover, helper and playmate,
to listen and share, to laugh and to cry.

With loving support of family and friends,
she takes flight down an unknown road towards her future,
like the rising of the sun in the east.
Each day filled with new beginnings.

Finding excitement and challenge at each new turn.
Her flight through life filled with many happy adventures
and memories to put in her book of life,
as the sun moves along that steady path across the sky.

When the sun at last begins to set in the west
and her flight nears its end, she can look back along her path
and know that she has been everything she can be
and has done her very best.

poem by linda dietz

Kathleen Ziemer has provided this memorial poem that was written for a release. It can be used by anyone as long as credit is given to the author:

As you release this butterfly in honor of me,
know that I'm with you and will always be.
Hold a hand, say a prayer,
close your eyes and see me there.
Although you may feel a bit torn apart,
please know that I'll be forever in your heart.
Now fly away butterfly as high as you can go,
I'm right there with you more than you know.

By Jill Haley

Wings:
You have given me wings with which to fly
Now I breathe in deep and spread them wide
as we lift off from the silken petals
into the wind where the butterflies glide.

While Waiting for Thee:
Don't weep at my grave, for I am not there,
I've a date with a butterfly to dance in the air.
I'll be singing in the sunshine, wild and free,
Playing tag with the wind, while I'm waiting for thee.

~~ We are as the wings of a butterfly, bound together with the love of God

Jenn, The Butterfly Box

Two versions of a poem by Jacqui Knight:

Spring:
Today, we release a butterfly
as a symbol of new beginning and life.
We celebrate the resurrection
and rejoice in the wonder, and reconnection.
As it glides away in the warm Spring air,
and flutters among the blossom there,
and stops to rest on a flower or two,
and takes a drink of the morning dew,
we remember that there is nothing too small
that our faith in Christ should ever stall.

Feel free to use © Jacqui Knight
Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Autumn:
Today, we release a butterfly
as a symbol of new beginning and life.
We celebrate the resurrection
and rejoice in the wonder, and reconnection.
As it glides away on the Autumn breeze,
and flutters among the wind-blown leaves,
and stops to rest on a flower or two,
and takes a drink of the morning dew,
we remember that there is nothing too small
that our faith in Christ should ever stall.

Feel free to use © Jacqui Knight
Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

A butterfly release for a funeral or memorial service is an appropriate, touching, and dignified way to honour the memory of your loved one.

The release is peaceful, healing and serene, and an inspirational way of providing friends and family a special way to express final goodbyes.
Look through eyes of hope and see
a butterfly inside the caterpillar,
hope knows that beauty is waiting to be born
in the unlikeliest places…

Thea Miller Ryan

By setting the butterfly free, you are helping to restore the balance of nature, and your wish will surely be granted.

"Often in life what appears to be an ending is really a glorious new beginning".

"A butterfly lights beside us like a sunbeam.
And for a brief moment its glory and beauty
belong to our world.
But then it flies on again,
and though we wish it could have stayed,
we feel so lucky to have seen it."

"Today we celebrate life with the release of butterflies. The animals you have been given will emerge from their envelopes and alight on your hand for a moment before flying off. Butterflies, a symbol of life, and freedom, were always special to (name). When instructed, please open the envelope and allow the butterfly to emerge on its own. It may take a few moments for the beautiful creature to adjust to the light and temperature before it flies off. These animals are natives, will thrive and insure the continuation of their species, keeping memory alive."

Miss Me But Let Me Go..
When I come to the end of the road
And the sun has set for me,
I want no rites in a gloom-filled room.
Why cry for a soul so free?
Miss me a little but not too long,
And not with your head bowed low.
Remember the love that we once shared.
Miss me, but let me go.
For this is a journey we all must take
And each must go alone,
It's all a part of the Master's plan,
A step on the road to Home.
When you are lonely and sick of heart
Go to the friends we know,
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds,
Miss me but let me go.

From Tillsonburg Hospital Auxiliary Newsletter

*Charlie Bradford, an Auxiliary member at Tillsonburg Hospital passed away and left this poem for his family and friends.

Kathryn Poland (4-12-01)

Unknown Author

Butterfly Wings
Like a butterfly emerges
And unfolds its graceful wings,
A child grows and develops
With the love a mother brings.
I'm thankful for the times
When you encouraged me to try,
For God gave me my wings,
But, Mom, you taught me how to fly.

Author: Robin Fogle

I AM NOT THERE
Do not stand by my grave and weep
For I am not there.
I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am diamonds that glint on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush
I am the swift uplifting rush of butterflies in joyous flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there.
I did not die.

Unknown

For your memorial service releases, here is a beautiful poem that can be used. People read this, then read Psalm 55: 6, then release the butterflies. It brings solace and peace.
Linda Rogers.

I Am Always With You
When I am gone, release me, let me go.
I have so many things to see and do,
You mustn't tie yourself to me with too many tears,
But be thankful we had so many good years.
I gave you my love, and you can only guess
How much you've given me in happiness.
I thank you for the love that you have shown,
But now it is time I traveled on alone.
So grieve for me a while, if grieve you must
Then let your grief be comforted by trust
That it is only for a while that we must part,
So treasure the memories within your heart.
I won't be far away for life goes on.
And if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can't see or touch me, I will be near
And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear
All my love around you soft and clear
And then, when you come this way alone,
I'll greet you with a smile and a "Welcome Home".

Assorted Poems
With closed eyes, I see you among the flowers,
High above the clouds.
Your presence blows through me with the breeze.
Your smile beams down on through the sun.
The full moon brings the light of your laughter to my mind.
And the Butterfly in all its splendor reminds me
Of your beauty and freedom now.
Leaving your love for me lingering in my world.

A butterfly flights beside us like a Sunbeam
And for a brief moment it's glory and beauty
Belong to our world,
But then it flies on again;
And though we wish it could have stayed,
We feel so lucky to have seen it.

The butterfly counts not months,
But in moments, and has time enough.
Author Unknown

researched by Jacqui Knight
The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.

Rabindranath Tagore

May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.

Irish Blessing

Butterflies are self propelled flowers. ~R.H. Heinlein

If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies. ~Author Unknown

The caterpillar does all the work but the butterfly gets all the
publicity. ~Attributed to George Carlin

What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a
butterfly. ~Richard Bach

But these are flowers that fly and all but sing:
And now from having ridden out desire
They lie closed over in the wind and cling
Where wheels have freshly sliced the April mire.
~Robert Frost, "Blue-Butterfly Day"

I saw a poet chase a butterfly in a meadow. He put his net on a bench
where a boy sat reading a book. It's a misfortune that it is usually
the other way round. ~Karl Kraus

The butterfly is a flying flower,
The flower a tethered butterfly.
~Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun

Beautiful and graceful, varied and enchanting, small but approachable,
butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life. And everyone deserves a
little sunshine. ~Jeffrey Glassberg

Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.
~Nathaniel Hawthorne

There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a
butterfly. ~Richard Buckminster Fuller

They seemed to come suddenly upon happiness as if they had surprised a butterfly in the winter woods. ~Edith Wharton

With the rose the butterfly's deep in love,
A thousand times hovering round;
But round himself, all tender like gold,
The sun's sweet ray is hovering found.
~Heinrich Heine, "New Spring"

"Just living is not enough," said the butterfly, "one must have
sunshine, freedom and a little flower." ~Hans Christian Anderson

Love is like a butterfly: It goes where it pleases and it pleases
wherever it goes. ~Author Unknown

I've watched you now a full half-hour;
Self-poised upon that yellow flower
And, little Butterfly! Indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless! - not frozen seas
More motionless! and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!
~William Wordsworth, "To a Butterfly"

I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. ~Charles Dickens

The butterfly's attractiveness derives not only from colors and
symmetry: deeper motives contribute to it. We would not think them so beautiful if they did not fly, or if they flew straight and briskly like
bees, or if they stung, or above all if they did not enact the
perturbing mystery of metamorphosis: the latter assumes in our eyes the value of a badly decoded message, a symbol, a sign. ~Primo Levi

And what's a butterfly? At best,
He's but a caterpillar, at rest.
~John Grey

Flowers and butterflies drift in color, illuminating spring. ~Author
Unknown

We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever.
~Carl Sagan

This great purple butterfly,
In the prison of my hands,
Has a learning in his eye
Not a poor fool understands.
~William Butler Yeats, "Another Song of a Fool"

[N]ot quite birds, as they were not quite flowers, mysterious and
fascinating as are all indeterminate creatures. ~Elizabeth Goudge

The butterfly, a cabbage-white,
(His honest idiocy of flight)
Will never now, it is too late,
Master the art of flying straight.
~Robert Graves, "Flying Crooked"

Know thyself! A maxim as pernicious as it is ugly. Whoever observes
himself arrests his own development. A caterpillar who wanted to know itself well would never become a butterfly. ~Andre Gide

Do ye not comprehend that we are worms,
Born to bring forth the angelic butterfly
That flieth unto judgment without screen?
~Dante Alighieri

Bees sip honey from flowers and hum their thanks when they leave.
The gaudy butterfly is sure that the flowers owe thanks to him.
~Rabindranath Tagore, /Stray Birds/

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes
it has gone through to achieve that beauty. ~Maya Angelou

The fluttering of a butterfly's wings can effect climate changes on the
other side of the planet. ~Paul Erlich

And the case of butterflies so rich it looks
As if all summer settled there and died.
~Philip Larkin, "Autumn"

Once I read a story about a butterfly in the subway, and today, I saw
one. It got on at 42nd, and off at 59th, where, I assume it was going
to Bloomingdales to buy a hat that will turn out to be a mistake - as
almost all hats are. ~Nikolaus Laszlo, Nora Ephron, and Delia Ephron,

A million butterflies rose up from South America,
All together, and flew in a gold storm toward Spain...
~Winfield Townley Scott, "Annual Legend

In nature a repulsive caterpillar turns into a lovely butterfly. But
with humans it is the other way around: a lovely butterfly turns into a
repulsive caterpillar. ~Anton Chekhov

Gray sail against the sky,
Gray butterfly!
Have you a dream for going.
Or are you the blind wind's blowing?
~Dana Burnet, "A Sail at Twilight"

The paired butterflies are already yellow with August
Over the grass in the West garden;
They hurt me. I grow older.
~Li Po

This magnificent butterfly finds a little heap of dirt and sits still on
it; but man will never on his heap of mud keep still. ~Joseph Conrad

Just like the butterfly, I too will awaken in my own time. ~Deborah Chaskin

Women, don't get a tattoo. That butterfly looks great on your breast
when you're twenty or thirty, but when you get to seventy, it stretches
into a condor. ~Billy Elmer

Where have those flowers and butterflies all gone
That science may have staked the future on?
He seems to say the reason why so much
Should come to nothing must be fairly faced.
~Robert Frost, "Pod of the Milkweed"

As for butterflies, I can hardly conceive of one's attending upon you;
but to question the congruence of the complement is vain, if it exists.
~Marianne Moore, "To a Steam Roller"

We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies
as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are. We adults,
on the other hand, have outgrown them and have to lower ourselves to
stoop down to them. It seems to me that the grass hates us when we
confess our love for it. Whoever would partake of all good things must
understand how to be small at times. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

The tulip and the butterfly
Appear in gayer coats than I:
Let me be dressed fine as I will,
Flies, worms, and flowers exceed me still.
~Isaac Watts

We are closer to the ants than to butterflies. Very few people can
endure much leisure. ~Gerald Brenan

Nerves and butterflies are fine - they're a physical sign that you're
mentally ready and eager. You have to get the butterflies to fly in
formation, that's the trick. ~Steve Bull

The least thing upset him on the links. He missed short putts because
of the uproar of butterflies in the adjoining meadows. ~P.G. Wodehouse

Grown-ups love figures. When you tell them that you have made a new friend, they never ask you any questions about essential matters. They never say to you, "What does his voice sound like? What games does he love best? Does he collect butterflies?" Instead, they demand: "How old is he? How many brothers has he? How much does he weigh? How much money does his father make?" Only from these figures do they think they have learned anything about him. ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, /The Little
Prince/, 1943, translated from French

It is necessary to write, if the days are not to slip emptily by. How
else, indeed, to clap the net over the butterfly of the moment? For the
moment passes, it is forgotten; the mood is gone; life itself is gone.
That is where the writer scores over his fellows: he catches the
changes of his mind on the hop. ~Vita Sackville-West

I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. ~Chuang Tzu

Free the butterflies-
I'll be there
to see them soar
upon the air.
Know my spirit
is on the wing,
feel my laughter-
hear me sing.
Forever in your dreams
always in your heart.

All profits this year go to "The Sandy Relief Fund"