In May, my student Avalyn took on a project to create a butterfly garden at her school. When I returned to school this week, she couldn’t wait to show me how the garden was doing. It was full of flowers. The largest was this moon flower. My friend Mary had donated a small plant in the spring and now it is huge! Yesterday we found a fat green caterpillar on it and researched. The caterpillar is a tobacco hornworm and will become a moth. We also found gulf fritillary caterpillars on the passion vine. They’ve eaten it all. I have a passion vine in my own butterfly garden that hasn’t been touched. I will bring some cuttings to help these little prickly cats along. Raising butterflies is a Joy!
Today write your own poem in any form about the moon, this flower, garden pests, butterflies, etc.
Tobacco Hornworm Nonet
Moon
Margaret Simon, draft
flower
night bloomer
bright white fragrance
among the children
feeds tobacco hornworm.
Watch how he chomps on the leaves;
Aggressive eater, camouflaged
soon will burrow to emerge as moth.
Reflections on the Teche 
How lovely that, in addition to poetry, you’ve shared your love of nature with Avalyn.
moonflower rises
inviting caterpillars
to munch, grow, transform
Rose, what a sweet haiku for this flower and its purpose in this garden. I love the thought of the moonflower rising. Perfect word choice.
Margaret and Rose—love the images of caterpillars “chomping” and “munching” because it seems as if we can hear them doing that as we watch. I also love the variety of actions, from “agressive eating” in your poem, Margaret, to the invitation in yours, Rose.
Inspired by my husband’s volunteer work at the Chicago Botanic Garden Butterflies-and-Blooms tent, I bade farewell again recently to my favorite, sapphire butterfly.
HOW TO CATCH A BUTTERFLY
Heliophorus oda
streaking past my eyes,
sapphire blue, flash of orange
against the lighter skies.
My fingers flutter with your wings –
you dive and dip and dart
I will not try to catch you
but I’ll hold you in my heart.
Carol, I love the title you picked for this poem and then the result of how to catch one–in your great. I love the rhyme scheme; it seems perfect for the topic.
Thanks, Denise!
So sweet. The rhythm swirls like a butterfly.
Thank you, Rose!
Butterfly release is bittersweet. Love “hold you in my heart.”
The moon,
night’s headliner,
has emulators
in gardens
and
galleries
galore
Wonderful consonance, Denise, that captures the abundance of “moon” and its presence in “gardens and galleries”!
Great alliteration. And I love the description of the moon as “night’s headliner”
Strong word choice.
Margaret, what a wonderful find to see when you got back to school, Avalyn’s butterfly garden! I think I have never seen a moonflower. I would like to smell the “bright white fragrance.” Thank you for the link. I’m going to go learn about the hornworm.
This poem is from Karen Eastlund:
A vine
Climbs
Opens flowers
Pure as alabaster
Aglow in the night
Breathes perfume
Into night air
Shies away
When sun
Beams
– Karen, draft