A Butterfly Dream Poem by Jim Yerman

Chuang Tzu (pronounced shuwang zee) was an ancient Chinese philosopher…when one night a vivid dream appeared before his sleeping eyes…in his dream he was not Chuang Tzu anymore…he was a butterfly.

After experiencing a dreamworld where he flew from flower to flower…where he felt so innocent and free…he awoke only to find he was not that butterfly…instead he was Chuang Tzu.

And he asked himself this now famous question…still asked in every corner of philosophy…Am I Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly…or am I a butterfly dreaming I'm Chuang Tzu?

Before you scoff at a butterfly that dreams and wonder if Chuang Tzu's pondering was amiss…remember all butterflies, like us, change in stages…it's called metamorphosis.

They enter into each stage innocent and when from that stage they finally escape…they have changed a little bit of who they are in their size and in their shape.

In the early stages they crawl and eat and sleep…they are somewhat quiet, reserved and shy…until the day their wings are formed and they begin to fly.

Every butterfly is beautiful as they soar from flower to flower or rest upon a leaf…sharing their beauty with the world for a little while….as their time on Earth is brief.

So perhaps Chuang Tzu's thinking was not as far off as it seems…
Since we share so much with the butterfly…it's easy to imagine they, too, might dream…

So I leave you with one final thought before heading on my way
a question, I imagine, Chuang Tzu might ask if he were her today:

Have I written this while sitting at my computer
in the comfort of my home…
or is it possible…
could it be…
a butterfly wrote this poem?