A butterfly

On my walk in the evening twilight

I saw a golden butterfly
Flitting across lavender and marigold
Flowers arrayed in a line
In a garden that borrowed warmth
From the setting sun in the sky
Soon the butterfly gently landed 
On my palm in an elegant glide

I looked long at that delicate soul
Sorry for its fleeting life
Would it survive the brutes of nature?
Or a hand less kinder than mine?
Soon would it meet the inevitable scythe
Of that unforgiving reaper, Time
But the butterfly, happily away it flew
Unheeding the cares of my mind

As I brooded on these thoughts and more
In wafted a scented zephyr
Carrying the fragrance of garden flowers
And of my hopes and sweet desire
It whispered to me, "Whatever tomorrow's pain
Why does your heart now tire?
Fly with the butterfly, my dear child,
Soar in the sky, higher and higher"