|

Butterflies

A poem about new beginnings.

"Al Muhibba (Beloved)" acrylic, coloured pencil and walnut ink on birch panel by Karen Tamminga-Paton. Used with permission. www.tammingapaton.com

Butterflies

So quiet, so subtle

…..Fluttering nearby

Sometimes I miss their colours

…..Bright patterns in the wind

Sometimes I miss people too

…..Bright, unique, beautiful

What do they carry

…..As they flutter nearby?

……….Precious stories, sacred lives

……………Love, joy, wisdom, hope

When will they stop me, catch my eye?

…..As does the beckoning butterfly–

……….Surprising, beloved

……………Yet once a crawling thing

………………..Are we all on the way to becoming?

Inherently made with possibility

…..Astonishing

……….Sobering

Our universal inheritance

…..An invitation to resonance

……….And repentance?

We too can start over

…..And help one another turnover

……….To grace, to fluttering

……………Like the butterfly uncovering

Beloved.

artist statement

Here, women enjoy the surprising presence of butterflies.  They are all Canadian species suggesting the possibility of new beginnings in this land.  Canada is founded on the principle that every human being has inherent value – a sobering challenge and our astounding inheritance.  

Author

  • Karen Wilk

    Karen Wilk works with Resonate Global Mission and Forge Canada coaching and training leaders and faith communities to discover and join God at work in their neighbourhoods. She has been a vocational pastor for over 35 years in Edmonton, Alberta and is currently leading a movement of Christ-followers seeking to ‘live among and love their neighbours.’ Karen has a Doctorate in Missional Leadership from Northern Seminary (Chicago) and has written numerous curricula, articles, devotionals, poetic prayers and ponderings and books including Don’t Invite Them to Church: Moving from a Come and See to a Go and Be Church. She and her husband have three adult daughters and one son-in-law, and enjoy being neighbours, playing pickleball, riding their e-bikes and Alberta’s great outdoors!

    View all posts
    Recent Posts
    Cups of tea in a bombed-out building
    Butterflies

Similar Posts

  • |

    End Saskatchewan coal

    On November 10, a Saskatchewan court held a justiciability hearing with big implications on the future of coal burning in the province. Five months earlier, on June 18, Saskatchewan’s Minister for Crown Corporations Jeremy Harrison had informed SaskPower staff that the province would ignore the federal Clean Electricity Regulations and keep coal “a pillar” of…

  • |

    Floods and shortages add to transportation woes

    Like the Joni Mitchell song, the agri-food industry sometimes doesn’t know what it’s got until it’s gone. That’s especially true nowadays with the issues plaguing us in transporting our farm products across the country and around the world. While we appreciate the work that truckers and shippers do all the time, lately we’ve had to…

  • |

    Return to normal

    Riopelle exhibit of bronzes and canvaseshidden for months behind a digitalinterface; pixelated representationslonging for in-person encounter. Surprise government opening of museumswith limited time slots available.Join a cohort of the freewalking those familiar, high-ceilinged rooms. Art gallery visit, not as imagined.Running late with a warning in mind:“Arrive 15 minutes earlyor lose your visit.” Rush through revolving doors andup the…

  • |

    Wild

    Over the month of June, we’d been participating in the Wildlife Trusts 30 Days Wild Challenge. Each day, we committed to do – or see or find – something wild. It didn’t need to be ambitious; it could be something right on our doorstep. The point was to notice.

  • |

    The kite lady

    I can say without reservation that flying our kite is Rachel’s favourite thing to do. Unleashed in the wind, the colourful fabric and long tail is eye-catching and mesmerizing. As often as possible, weather permitting, we drive Rachel and Janneke to The Spit. It’s a narrow tree-filled stretch of land alongside the Welland Canal that…