Three Butterfly Theme Poems

[PHOTO SOURCE: National Geographic online images]
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From Cocoon forth a Butterfly – A poem by Emily Dickinson

From Cocoon forth a Butterfly
As Lady from her Door
Emerged -- a Summer Afternoon --
Repairing Everywhere --

Without Design -- that I could trace
Except to stray abroad
On Miscellaneous Enterprise
The Clovers -- understood --

Her pretty Parasol be seen
Contracting in a Field
Where Men made Hay --
Then struggling hard
With an opposing Cloud --

Where Parties -- Phantom as Herself --
To Nowhere -- seemed to go
In purposeless Circumference --
As 'twere a Tropic Show --

And notwithstanding Bee -- that worked --
And Flower -- that zealous blew --
This Audience of Idleness
Disdained them, from the Sky --

Till Sundown crept -- a steady Tide --
And Men that made the Hay --
And Afternoon -- and Butterfly --
Extinguished -- in the Sea --

[~ Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Poem #354]

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PHOTO SOURCE: National Geographic online images]

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Some such Butterfly be seen – A poem by Emily Dickinson

Some such Butterfly be seen
On Brazilian Pampas --
Just at noon -- no later -- Sweet --
Then -- the License closes --

Some such Spice -- express and pass --
Subject to Your Plucking --
As the Stars -- You knew last Night --
Foreigners -- This Morning –

[~ Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Poem #541]

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[PHOTO SOURCE: National Geographic online images]

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Two butterflies went out at Noon -- A poem by Emily Dickinson

Two butterflies went out at Noon --
And waltzed upon a Farm --
Then stepped straight through the Firmament
And rested, on a Beam --

And then -- together bore away
Upon a shining Sea --
Though never yet, in any Port --
Their coming, mentioned -- be --

If spoken by the distant Bird --
If met in Ether Sea
By Frigate, or by Merchantman --
No notice -- was -- to me --

[~ Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Poem #533]

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A SPECIAL THANK YOU to my Kindred Spirit and Counsin "C",  
for a PERFECT gift and remembrance -- A Book of Poems by Emily Dickinson.

Thank you for the gift, with warm affection, respect, and friendship, Dee
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Rainy Days - and - Rainbows

(Inspiration and sentiment for this writing, 25 May 2011, arrived from the rain that fell this morning over my roof, and set the leaves to sparkle in the sunshine -- the sunshine has come out and the sky that is 'chuck' full of glorious RAINBOWS! )

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A drop fell on the apple tree
Another on the roof;
A half a dozen kissed the eaves,
And made the gables laugh.

A few went out to help the brook,
That went to help the sea.
Myself conjectured, Were they pearls,
What necklaces could be!

The dust replaced in hoisted roads
The birds jocoser sung;
The sunshine threw his hat away,
The orchards spangles hung.

The breezes brought dejected lutes
And bathed them in the glee;
The East put out a single flag,
And signed the fete away.
[~ Emily Elizabeth Dickinson, Poem #794]


{A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU to a VERY SPECIAL FRIEND for the VERY SPECIAL GIFT OF A BOOK OF POETRY and WRITINGS of EMILY ELIZABETH DICKINSON.  Emily was/is my Maternal DNA Cousin, and my very special friend that made me the gift of this book, and put a personal inscription inside,  is my Maternal Cousin and Kindred Spirit "C". [~ dht-2011] }

OR why didn't you just say so (Emily's poem):


It seems Emily's poem #794 is about a summer rain shower and how it refreshes and changes the land as the water cycles (a chain of nature as a chain of pearls in a necklace) through nature as rain, streams, rivers, seas, oceans, then evaporation and storms and rain again.   How the land is blessed, kissed by the rain, decorated by glittering raindrops, and dust is settled.   How the rain makes soft and cheery sounds on the roof and birds sing their song.   How the sunshine 'gave it up' and the clouds and rain prevailed in rain shower festivities (fete), until the sun came out again from the East and displayed a rainbow (flag).   How the rain and wind washes the leaves (pear shaped leaves like a lute).
[~ dht-2011]


[PHOTO SOURCE:  National Geographic Online image of Rainbow]

WHAT'S A BUTTERFLY

                                      [PHOTO SOURCE: GOOGLE online images]

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SOME OF MY FAV QUOTATIONS AND PROSE ABOUT THE BUTTERLY--


“What's a butterfly garden without butterflies?” [~Roy Rogers]

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]

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

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

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

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]

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

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]

"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]

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty. [~Author Unknown]


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]

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

The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough. [~Rabindranath Tagore]

I WISH YOU TIME ENOUGH, TO REACH YOUR HEART'S DESIRE WITH LOVE OVERFLOWING AND KINDRED SPIRITS TO SHARE IT WITH !! [DOROTHY HAZEL TARR, ~dht-2011]

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SO SAY I----->


DO you have a favorite BUTTERFLY poem, quote, saying, dream, and/or thought?


Any thoughts about the quotes proffered here about BUTTERFLYs?


WHAT does the BUTTERFLY mean to you (if anything)? (ie., change, love, spring, nature, bugs, insects)


WHAT SAY YOU -------> ????
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A TRIBUTE TO NURSES

PHOTO SOURCE: GOOGLE online images; NURSE AT WORK]
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NURSE'S DAY – History
National Nurses Week was observed in 1954 from October 11 through October 16, to mark the centennial anniversary of Florence's Nightingale's Crimean War mission, which came about based on the reports making their way back to Britain regarding the condition and care of the wounded.

In the fall of 1854, Nightingale and 38 other female volunteer nurses were dispatched to the Ottoman Empire to the location of the British encampment. There was a shortage of medicine, a disregard for hygiene, and infections were rampant and often fatal. It was here that the dedicated Nightingale earned her famous nickname, "The Lady With the Lamp," because even after the rest of the medical staff had retired for the day, she still persisted in making her solitary rounds in the dark.

It was not until 1974 that Nixon finally proclaimed an official National Nurses Week, and in 1982 May 6th was designated National Nurses Day by President Ronald Reagan.

Not to be confused with National Nurses Day, another celebrated day falls within Nurses Week designated solely to school nurses, and is referred to as National Student Nurses Day. It falls on the Wednesday within National Nurses Week each year.

It is on May 12, Florence Nightingale's birthday, when International Nurses Day is celebrated each year. The International Council of Nurses creates and distributes to nurses kits that contain useful information and materials for nurses around the world.

The International Nurses Day (IND) 2011 theme is "Closing the Gap: Increasing Access and Equity."

If you know a NURSE, be sure and remember them with even the smallest token of appreciation on NURSES DAY 6 May 2011.  They deserve it.

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[PHOTO SOURCE: GOOGLE online images; "The lady with the lamp", Florence Nightengale, founder of modern nursing]

Nursing is an art:
and if it is to be made an art,
It requires an exclusive devotion
as hard a preparation,
as a painter's or sculptor's work;
for what is the having to do with
dead canvas or dead marble,
compared with having to do
with the living body,
the temple of God's spirit?
It is one of the Fine Arts:
I had almost said,
the finest of Fine Arts.
[~Florence Nightingale]

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Being a NURSE means......
You will never be bored.
You will always be frustrated.
You will be surrounded by challenges.
So much to do and so little time.
You will carry immense responsibility and very little authority.
You will step into people's lives and you will make a difference.
Some will bless you. Some will curse you.
You will see people at their worst-and at their best.
You will never cease to be amazed at people's capacity for love, courage, and endurance.
You will see life begin-and end.
You will experience resounding triumphs and devastating failures.
You will cry a lot.
You will laugh a lot.
You will know what it is to be human and to be humane.
[~Melodie Chenevert, RN]

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FOR A SPECIAL NURSE

Long before you entered nursing
The Lord had played His part,
Planting seeds of love and kindness
In the portals of your heart.
For it's clear that you've been gifted
With a sympathetic ear,
And blessed from the beginning
With a willingness to cheer.
And the people who you care for
Are better off by far,
When they're touched by your compassion,
By the person that you are.
For in times of woe and worry
When they're frightened or they're blue,
No one could be more consoling than the friend they'll find in you!
[~unknown]
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This is dedicated to that SPECIAL person that tends you in times of need—YOUR NURSE.
AND, to a SPECIAL NURSE, my beloved daughter, of whom I'm very proud. [~dht-2-11].

A TRIBUTE TO MOTHERS

Before I was a Mom


Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth every day.


Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.


Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on - Pooped on - Spit on - Chewed on, or Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and My thoughts. I slept all night.


Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests...or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.


Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mom.   [AFTER ALL,  I WAS ONLY AGE 17 when I became a MOTHER! ~dht-2011]


Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.


Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known The warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.
[~ UNKNOWN]


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And Grandma's too...
While we honor all our mothers
with words of love and praise.
While we tell about their goodness
and their kind and loving ways.
We should also think of Grandma, [be they here with us or only a memory ~dht-2011]
she's a mother too, you see....
For she mothered my dear mother
as my mother mothers me.
[~ Author Unknown]


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Before the child is born
A mother's love begins
Before the child is born
And lasts through time
And difficulties
And differences
And many wounds
And days of joy
And days of sorrow
Winding, wearing
Weeping, sharing
Changing
Until, at the end
What remains
Is that solid core
That began as love
Before the child was born.
[ ~ Ruth Greer]

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A SPECIAL HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY !!

These are so beautiful.  I teared up – USED LOTS OF TISSUES -- while reading them, that's why I selected these particular poems to share! 

They are not my words – BUT they express my sentiments and feelings well !!  They are a wonderful sentiment and tribute to Mothers – both Mothers in our lives now and those Mothers that paved the way.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY – to Mothers everywhere!

[dht-2011]

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                              [PHOTO SOURCE: GOOGLE online images]