Of Verdurous Preserves

(A Haiku spotlighting fragile habitats)

She flutters about,
a new lifecycle awaits,
a mother’s instinct.

For the precise host,
and the only sustenance,
scouring the coppice.

Misfortune beckons,
thickets touched by human greed,
a sparse foliage.

Tired wings stagger,
time and vigour on the wane,
unbending instinct.

A forsaken nook,
of stunted hardy herbage,
a singular host.

Eggs promise new life,
The past gladly ebbs away,
Axe and spade approach!

[Featuring: Common Mormon butterfly (Papilio polytes)]

– Narendra Nayak © 2020