The Saddest Thing

One thing has always stood as a symbol of change, rebirth, beauty, grace, hope...and that would be a butterfly. What else? A butterfly has always been a sign of good things in the world. Yesterday I watched a butterfly die.

I told my mom I would help her prune bushes in her yard and when I got to my first bush there was a beautiful swallowtail butterfly spread across the front of the bush. I stood for a moment to watch it. It just sat there slowly flapping it wings. So I quickly ran for my camera, knowing it would be gone by the time I got back, but hoping it would still be there. It was. I took my picture and then waited for it to fly away. It didn't.

I stepped around the bush and began pruning from the back to give it space. By the time I got to the front, it was still there. Slowly I transferred the butterfly, encouraging it to crawl to another branch. I trimmed the branches all around it (couldn't believe how close I got) and transferred it to yet another branch. Its wings flapped slower and slower. Finally when I couldn't get it to crawl anymore, I clipped the branch it was hanging from and slowly set it aside. Its wings only twitched and its body moved but once. At the end of the day it was still where I had set it - laying on its side, wings folded slightly up. It didn't move at all.

Somehow it just seemed like one of those mysteries in life you're not suppose to see. No one wants to see a butterfly die! I know this isn't an adventure tale, but it truly was one of the saddest things I've seen.