One miracle butterfly.
But it took 3 near miracles to give it a chance to life.
It came into the world in winter.

April 2014


3 Near-Miracles


It took at least 3 almost-miracles to save the butterfly that emerged a few years ago in January in my basement.

The first near-miracle. That it lived at all. The logs were outdoors for the summer, stacked to be entered in the fall. What a fluke that the cocoon was not destroyed when the log was moved. Other logs were thrown. The logs that went into the far corner of the basement were not.

The second near-miracle. That it was spotted. Otherwise the first near-miracle would hardly have mattered. It would have lived briefly in the dark of the basement, just a bit of light for a few moments here and there, while I was adding wood the to furnace.

The third near-miracle - at least as big as the first. That the butterfly was seen by someone who cared.

It lived for 21 days. I learned to care for it as best as I could. It had one perfect wing, and one damaged wing, so it never was able to fly well.

I couldn't give it a regular butterfly life. But I had geraniums flowering indoors, and offered it fresh bright flowers almost daily. I gave it watermelon and cantaloupe and sugared water. I brought it upstairs to my study so it could have light.

It was so strange, looking closely at the butterfly - its bug body with its gorgeous wings.

Did it have any awareness that it was being cared for? Did it feel that somehow things were not quite right - that the sun should have been brighter and the days longer - that it was meant to be able to fly in the wind among tall grasses?

I don't know. I did the best I could, with help from friends and the internet. I checked on it, on the last night of its life. It seemed fine. I turned off the light. The next morning it had died. And I felt sadness.

And I ask - how many near-miracles do we not notice? How often do we not care, so the near-miracle dies?


Elsa

April 20, 2014

PS. There's a photo of the butterfly at the top. You can see it, plus the geranium it's resting on, plus enough cantaloupe and watermelon for a hundred butterflies. It's a favorite photo of mine.

PPS. I wrote about the butterfly shortly after I found it. Here's what I wrote about the miracle butterfly. That butterfly - its fragile life, its near miraculous appearance, my near miraculous finding of it - touched me deeply.


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