A Pacific Northwest native, I have been writing poetry over 40 years. My poems reflect a woman’s journey through the later years, with recurring themes of loss and renewal.
Photos Credits: Ella Wei & Tinthia Clemant
In the summer
the monarchs migrate
to forests on the coast
of California, alighting
by the thousands
in the eucalyptus trees,
setting the branches ablaze.
It takes three life spans
for them to travel full circle
and they must find their way
without ever having
done it before.
If a monarch landed
on my finger,
this lost person
would ask her how she did it,
how she found her way
back the same way
back to the same tree
as her grandmother
without ever seeing it,
coming home
for the first time
and the last time.
And perhaps she would tell me
that we all have a sense
of where we were meant to go,
where home is
where love waits.
Pay attention, she would say.
Follow your own sun.
Mysterious. And fascinating.
What a wonderful description of the monarchs life cycle. And I can read it thanks for improving the contrast