A Boy, a Ball, a Butterfly
A poem
A young boy walks home from school, Pack strapped to his back. He bounces a red ball: Plunk, plunk, plunk…
A lone Monarch butterfly flutters A foot above his head, A foot behind. It follows the boy: A balloon on a string, A thought bubble in the air, Or A recently departed family member’s soul.
But the boy never knew The butterfly was there. He just kept bouncing his ball: Plunk, plunk, plunk…
~~ Rhonda Marrone 8/2021
I was sitting on my porch writing and I heard the boy of 11 or 12 coming up the road bouncing his ball. As he got in front of me I could see the butterfly. It followed right behind him, all the way out of sight. I was too astonished to think to pick up the camera or to tell him to look. I remember after my mother died I saw butterflies everywhere and I took it as a sign that she was trying to tell me that she was ok. I wondered if someone was trying to tell the boy they were ok.
