Crystal Butterfly Poem by Margaret Alice

What made an author write a
lovely fantasy about a special
person called Anastasia Mor-
ningstar who turned naughty
children into frogs

But could not do the same to
the rational science teacher
because his wonderment at
nature’s glories made him
immune to the

Power of her magic; what made
her describe a transparent but-
terfly seen by the teacher as a
boy, a crystal beauty, that pre-
served him from

Completely rejecting the existence
of the inexplicable in Anastasia’s
making visions come alive, conju-
ring landscapes in her house, a
source of bafflement

That made the teacher feel hostile;
until the crystal butterfly worked its
magic once again? - The idea lifted
me out of wooden duty; set my
spirit free to seek

Bewitchment beyond, behind and
beneath so-called hard
reality…

Hazel Hutchins “Anastasia Morningstar”
Oxford University Press,1987