Demise
I never
thought I'd see the day
When Tiger
moths would go away.
Am full of
upset, anger and pain
Now seldom
will we see again.
Void of
colour that filled the sky;
They really
are in short supply!
I think back
over fifty years;
Things have
become so unclear.
Our gardens'
were full on in flight
Where Red
Admirals and Cabbage White
Adorned the
flowers and the walls,
Hardly
any creatures at nightfall.
Tortoiseshell
pupa could be found
On nettles,
or crawling on the ground.
On Privet
leaves lived long and furry,
Stroke them
and they'd roll up curly!
Kept in
jam-jars, fed it leaves -
Kept it safe
I do believe.
Until the
time it started to weave
Then fly away
when safe to leave.
Their
habitats are being replaced
By
new-builds taking up their space.
Artificial
grass, insecticides;
Until no
more we'll see them fly.
Endemic
fields have been burnt down
By vandals
from their concrete town,
So further
now they're in decline
Wished I
kept them safe in a shrine.
The Common
White, now so rare,
The Peacock
disappeared, but where?
Feeling sad
from their demise
Miss the
pretty Moths and Butterflies.
Copyright
Linda Lawrence
3rd
May 2017
For my Dad
