Cursed beauty

To the beautiful blue Morpho butterflies,
Dark, moist and gritty
Was what the undergrowth seemed to be.
Covered with mushrooms,
And other unattractive species
That thrived in the absence of sunlight.
Often the blue beauties went on adventures
In search of their soulmates.
Flapping their wings,
They flew higher and higher,
Past the dark depths of the woods
And into the bright meadows
Where the sunlight flowed freely,
And the ground was covered,
With a beautiful thick flowery carpet
Of all shapes and colours.
But the dark undergrowth
Was their safe haven
They always returned
After their adventures were over
Though it was dark and gritty,
None dared to disturb them
In the thick dark undergrowth
That they called home.
They survived, peacefully,
Away from all the threats,
That troubled their rare species
Their beauty was a curse
In the bright outside world
But in their dark safe haven,
Their beauty didn’t seem cursed anymore.

This poem was written in response to Sadje’s What Do You See prompt #34. Thank you Sadje for hosting this challenge. The challenge is to use the picture prompt as inspiration to compose an original story, poem, or a caption.

Author’s Note:

I learned a lot about the beautiful but rare Morpho butterflies while doing my research for this poem. I am sharing a few points that I found to be very interesting. Click on the link to know more about these beautiful butterflies. 🙂

The most striking aspect of the butterfly’s appearance is its iridescent blue wings. However, they are not actually blue! The blue is not caused by pigmentation; it is actually caused by the way light reflects off of microscopic scales on the backs of the butterfly’s wings.

Blue morphos are visible to pilots flying over the rainforest.

Morphos will come down to the rain-forest floor to feed, and will often fly into clearings to warm themselves in the bright sunlight.

When looking for a mate, blue Morphos can be found flying through all of the layers of the rain-forest looking for a mate.

Although blue Morphos are not directly endangered, they are threatened by deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Humans pose another threat to the Blue Morpho butterfly. The butterfly is very beautiful and thereby attracts collectors and artists who wish to capture them and/or display them.

The Blue Morpho Butterfly Facts Courtesy: Active Wild

Sometimes, beauty can feel like a curse too!

Image courtesy: Pixabay

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