New York Butterflies1956

New York Butterflies 1956

Oh Monarch, you are heavy with Mexico,
while the Painted Lady stops at a newsstand,
legs cased in silk.
Lunch counter latest:  New World with Prévert and Beckett.
Must tell Joanie about the Yellow Swallowtail.
I would rather wear a Crimson Patch on my lapel
than a tie from Brooks Brothers.
The Autumn Leaf drifts like a drunk Duke of Burgundy
into the gutter of 8th Avenue.
Do you remember the Golden Birdwing in August?
No, you were in Southampton eating a peach
with Jimmy. Such ankles.
My Mourning Cloak is darker than the sky today.
Splash-Wing Skipper flew away.
The Miami Blue — I’m flagging a cab.
Orange Sulphur, Peacock, Spring White,
you are all just passing through the traffic.
A Golden Hairstreak on a parking meter,
a Sonoran Blue past Nat Sherman’s
where I get Gauloise, because
you prefer them to Marlboro.
Let the Lustrous Copper and the Silver Emperor
stay in the sculpture garden.
I am having a hot dog with the Red Admiral.
The Rice Paper is blank like my page.
The Clipper, and your new friend
in his Large Tortoiseshell glasses,
know more about wind than the best politicians
in City Hall.
Speckled Wood, Pine Satyr, Gatekeeper —
we are all just flying toward the next
pastrami sandwich.

Poetics: But no, a Butterfly

A list of common butterfly names. Choose at least three and include them. You may choose to use more than three. Please use the entire name.
No specific form for this prompt. The poem does not have to be about butterflies at all. Use the words for inspiration.

Appalachian Azure, Autumn Leaf, Clipper, Clouded Yellow, Crimson Patch, Duke of Burgundy, Fatal Metalmark, Fiery Skipper, Gatekeeper, Golden Birdwing, Golden Hairstreak, Green Marble, Large Tortoiseshell,, Lustrous Copper, Miami Blue, Monarch, Mourning Cloak, Orange Sulphur, Painted Lady, Peacock, Pine Satyr, Rice Paper, Rusty-Tipped Page, Silver Emperor, Silver-Banded Hairstreak, Small Wood Nymph, Sonoran Blue, Speckled Wood, Spring White, Velvet Rose, Wandering Skipper.

dVerse