Butterflies must be the most beautiful of all insects. They are with us while the warm weather lasts, and seeing a Brimstone in a garden early in the year is one of the most delightful heralds of spring’s arrival.
The vividness and frailty of butterflies as they flicker across our summer meadows are why they seem to embody a sense of transience – and may also be why they are so popular with poets. For Judith Wright a butterfly’s short life is all about love:

“Lifted by air and dream
they rose and circled into heaven’s slipstream
to seek each other over fields of blue.”

from ‘Wings’ by Judith Wright
This glorious selection celebrates butterflies from all over the world – from a Swallowtail in the English Fens to a Spotted Jezebel in Australia – and reminds us to look closely at their dazzling beauty while we can.
Poems by Nandi Chinna, John Clare, WH Davies, Emily Dickinson, Robert Graves, Matthew Hollis, John Kinsella, Grace Nichols, Giles Watson and Judith Wright.