I saw a butterfly on the sand today.
It shouldn’t have been there, not really.
Wings so delicate, caught in the wind and salt.
It laid in the sand like it had wandered from another world,
drawn here by something it couldn’t explain.
And I stopped there looking at it.
It reminded me of something I hadn’t felt in a long time.
That flutter.
That sudden, soft stirring in the chest,
like wings brushing against the inside of your heart.
The same feeling I had when I met him.
We’d only talked online for a short time.
Friendly, light, fun, sensual.
And I felt butterflies for the first time in a long time.
Then when we met in person,
his eyes found mine like they already knew me.
His voice settled into something steady and warm.
His kisses soft, his touch tender.
And there it was, those butterflies.
Not the reckless kind you have in your youth.
Not chaos, not confusion.
But the beautiful, fragile kind that say,
You’re alive again.
You’re still able to feel.
You haven’t closed off every soft place in you after all.
It’s strange, the things that remind us.
The way a tiny creature blown in from somewhere else can mirror the way a person stirs your spirit.
That butterfly wouldn’t stay in the sand long.
The wind would carry it off.
But the moment stayed with me.
And so did the feeling.
Not because I needed it to become something huge,
but because it reminded me I’m still open to something beautiful.
Even now. I feel the butterflies when I think of him.
And though we will probably never see each other again, the feeling that stirred in me will remain a reminder that I still haven’t given up on love.
The butterflies didn’t mean I needed him — they reminded me my heart still can flutter. – Patti Jewel
Just Keep Walking. Step with Love. Always forward.