I Am A Butterfly! Poem by Madathil Rajendran Nair

I Am A Butterfly!

Rating: 4.1


I was a butterfly
That knew not the Sun
Who showed me this and that
In whose dazzle I lost the sight
Of the One that shone in all

My eyes were closed
As I drowned
In the sweetness that nectar bore
Thought that was all
There to be known

Alas, I was a butterfly
Inebriate dumb and deaf
That moved and died in time
Like leaves on autumn eve

Till I landed on the beads
Clung to them in mortal grief
The lute and lotus then I saw
With the One who sat on it
Whose Lotus Feet said it all

I am a butterfly
Who now sees the Sun
In whose light shines one and all
I am a butterfly
Who knows where
Sweet immortality rears

The lute is me
The flower is me
As the Mother who smiles
And shines around

I am a butterfly
That knows no fret
For fret I am, the Feet I am
The sweetness too I am
I am a butterfly
Lost in Love
That sees only butterflies around
And that Oneness - the seat of all!

I Am A Butterfly!
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Topic(s) of this poem: knowledge
POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
Saraswati is the Goddess of Wisdom, Knowledge and Learning for Indians from time immemorial. This poem suggests that She showed the way to the ignorant butterfly, which we are all, to true knowledge of Oneness.
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Aftab Alam Khursheed 21 February 2015

Ignorant butterfly on lotus thank you nice poem keep it up

2 0 Reply
Bri Edwards 17 September 2016

perhaps ignorance of (a lot of) Indian culture has caused me to lack understanding here. i especially wonder what Oneness means to you. i am not used to thinking in terms of Oneness, but your use of One made me wonder if you were referring to God (who i no longer believe in) . i like these lines, but maybe you 'want' a was in front of to be known? : My eyes were closed As I drowned In the sweetness that nectar bore Thought that was all There to be known - - - - - - - - - - - - the illustration certainly helps me understand these lines: Till I landed on the beads Clung to them in mortal grief The lute and lotus then I saw With the One who sat on it Whose Lotus Feet said it all .............and Poet's Notes are always appreciated by me. ...................................................................Is that cash in the lower left hand? still, i'm a bit lost. bri :)

1 0 Reply
Madathil Rajendran Nair 19 September 2016

Hi. The poem is one of my earliest ones, which for reasons I can’t guess, managed to go up to second position on my PH page. Yes. The missing 'was' in the last line of the first stanza may remain unsaid as there is another 'was' in the previous line. Poetic liberty permits that I presume. Referring to the image, it is not cash in the Goddess’s hand. She is the Goddess of learning/wisdom. So, that is a book. In good old days, in ancient India, people used to write on dried palmyra leaves. Most works then, including all the great Indian epics, comprising millions and millions of words, were written on palmyra leaves with writing nails made of iron. So, what she is holding can well be imagined as a wad of written leaves. As for me, who has dabbled in the Indian philosophy of Advaita, Oneness isn’t any different from God. Nor am I, in my real nature, any different from both. Since you are an atheist, I am sure you will have difficulty accepting my point of view and these concepts. No problem. However, I would like you to read my poem “God” where I have labored to refute an atheist with some fundamental logic. If I have been unkind in my description of the atheist, kindly forgive. It is a poem after all. As repeated attempts to post this message here have failed, I have sent a separate mail to your PH mailbox. In case you need more clarifications about my idea of Oneness and God, please send me your email id in reply to that message. I am afraid any further discussion on those topics would be out of scope here. Regards. Madathil Nair

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Bri Edwards 11 October 2016

I Am A Butt. Er***, I Mean A Fly. ….[attempt At Humor/Humour; Short; Playing With Language; Thanks, Madathil] - Poem by Bri Edwards As I perused the list of poems by Madathil R. Nair, I suddenly noticed: I Am A Butterfly! ………there. This got my brain cells [I still have a few] working. Yes, my head started to rock. It was wildly jerking! ! And this poem was ….forthcoming. Yes! I gave it birth. I hope it will add (to YOUR day) SOME measure of mirth! (October 11,2016) bri ;)

1 0 Reply

Thanks Bri. God bless.

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Savita Tyagi 26 January 2022

Beautiful poem reflecting the oneness. All of it is seen through our perception.

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Bharati Nayak 23 November 2020

I am a butterfly That knows no fret For fret I am, the Feet I am The sweetness too I am I am a butterfly Lost in Love That sees only butterflies around And that Oneness - the seat of all! - - - -I am in awe of this deeply spiritual poem!

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First of all, may i fold my hands before this beautiful image of Saraswati Devi. 'I am a butterfly' traces the journey of a spiritual aspirant in search of inner wisdom. Like a butterfly, who tastes the nectar of different flowers, man too hops from one medium to another, searching and seek the real truth of life. A beautiful poem, Sir..........10

1 0 Reply
Clarence Prince 05 December 2016

A nice poem about the butter fly, and what it does! Thanks for sharing!

1 0 Reply
Bharati Nayak 22 November 2016

Marvelously written- - the inward journey- -the quest for true knowledge- - - -acquiring the wisdom that 'I is the source of both joy and sorrow and there is no difference between I and you, we or they as they are all one..To quote from the poem- - - - - - I am a butterfly That knows no fret For fret I am, the Feet I am The sweetness too I am I am a butterfly Lost in Love That sees only butterflies around And that Oneness - the seat of all!

1 0 Reply
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