For the man who should loose me is dead,
Fighting with the Duke in Flanders,
In a pattern called a war.
Christ! What are patterns for?
-Amy Lowell, “Patterns”
Amy, patterns by themselves are not the problem.
Look at the multicolored, magical
patterns on a butterfly wing:
black, white, orange,
purple, magenta, gold.
Those patterns aren’t just beautiful,
they protect butterflies from harm,
camouflage them
in their surroundings,
help them find a mate to have and hold.
Most patterns are not so bold
but hide beneath the surface.
To find them, study them,
to understand and change them
takes science.
Do most women in relationships
suffer abuse, violence,
butterflies
with wings soiled and crushed?
Do empires engage in wars,
invasions, occupations
again and again,
beautiful peoples crushed,
exterminated
like butterflies underfoot?
Patterns of horrors
must be flushed out, excavated,
spoken out loud,
broken
so humans
like butterflies
can spread our gorgeous wings
and fly.