Butterfly in English, Dari, French, Spanish, and Urdu
Butterfly
Dusty lines on its wings
Red, orange, red-orange, yellow-orange
Red like the roses of Afghanistan
Yellow like the sun
Shauparak
Twisting and turning
dipping down and up
wings opening and closing
opening and closing
resting on a flower
Papillon
Silent, soft and fragile
Some are pure white
Are they always silent?
Silent in the wind?
Mariposa
The joy of seeing a butterfly makes me smile
because they are free to fly everywhere
to flowers and treetops
from one country to another… without a visa
Titly
If you were a butterfly, who would you be?
A Monarch with sturdy black and orange wings
or its friend, the Yellow Swallowtail?
I would be a Monarch and come to visit you.
By Shahida, age 13
Dear Shahida: I love imagining you as a Monarch. How sweet to imagine you coming over for a visit! I love the beauty and happiness and delicate imagery of this poem. I love imagining the butterflies flying from “one country to another…without a visa.” Beautiful work here, Shahida!! Stacy
Salaam dear Shahida,
Your colorful words make us all feel like butterflies. And I WANTED to be a butterfly when I read these words:
The joy of seeing a butterfly makes me smile
because they are free to fly everywhere
to flowers and treetops
from one country to another… without a visa.
Thank you so much for writing. You’ve done a wonderful job!
With respect, Jeannie
Dear Shahida — Thank you for writing this beautiful, uplifting poem! Your descriptions of the butterflies — their colors and their movements — and your envy at their freedom of movement across borders without visas was perfect. Lovely work! Nancy
Dear Shahida,
Thank you so much for sharing not just your beautiful poem but a little of your languages. I would love to learn more Urdu and Dari through your poetry. What poets do you like to read? The monarchs migrate through our town, coming south from another country, also without visas.
Best wishes,
Carrie La Seur
The image your beautiful poem creates is so pure. Thank you for sharing and please keep writing.
This is very wonderful poem Shahida jan .I really love it .