Butterflies

by Rudyard Kipling — a poem card from Justes Mots

Kipling uses butterfly-chasing children as metaphor for human aspiration and the path to enlightenment, contrasting earthly struggle with spiritual transformation. A father's wisdom reveals that beauty emerges from humble origins (caterpillars), challenging preachers who dismiss material reality. The poem resonates with those seeking hopeful reframing of life's difficulties and hidden beauty.

Eyes aloft, over dangerous places,
The children follow the butterflies,
And, in the sweat of their upturned faces,
Slash with a net at the empty skies.

So it goes they fall amid brambles,
And sting their toes on the nettle-tops,
Till, after a thousand scratches and scrambles,…

Themes: love · new-baby · wedding · friendship