November Butterflies

What do butterflies know?
Of November days that seems of spring
Warm slanting sun
And blooming dandelions blossoms,
Open late for
One last dance,
Egg yoke yellow
With toothy florets,
Offering a free final meal of nectar
Before the butterflies, white and yellow,
Choose a loose bit of bark
Or a rolled leaf
Or a silken sleeping bag
To slumber the winter away.


Safe in their dreams
They are thankful I suppose,
And I am not surprised
By this mutualism:
Kindness begetting kindness
People might learn to call it.
Empathy at an evolutionary level,
It works both ways
Such prosperity,
A win-win
In these late warm days
Before the struggles
Of the dark cold coming winter.

Pin Head

Reality check.
Looking around the universe
There is a lot to see.
I wonder if you and I see it the same way:
Exactly, somewhat, or what planet are you from?
Sometimes I see butterflies;
They hatch from their pupa
And fly away.  On their very first day!
Looking good
They navigate the wind,
Skirting through the hickories
They find an invitation to a flowering meadow
Full of nectar,
And fuel up.
And all with the brain the size of a pin head.
They make their way;
Some over generations and continents.

My brain is bigger
Maybe 1400 grams
About 3 pounds
Smaller than a whale or an elephant…
It took me 20 some years to grow it.
Several school and many lessons later
I may be smart enough to riddle out
Butterfly realities,
 Maybe.
A little.
My brain is like yours and billions of others
Sapiens-wise
Intelligent but maybe not all that smart.
We spend much of our realities
Building flying machines
Burning fuels
Poisoning bugs
Shooting guns
Killing things,
Homo homicidal,
‘Cause our bigger brains think it is the right thing to do.
It’s our advanced reality
An unrepentant reality
We do it and cannot stop
So it seems.

Here’s an idea:
Spend a few minutes with a butterfly.
They won’t mind a visitor.
And then answer the question(s)
That stir in your big brained reality.
You’ll come up with a few.
Me?
I am wondering who the pinhead is
In this universe?