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The Return

Robert Witmer

A rather ordinary butterfly, mostly black with a few pale blue spots, lands opposite me on the table in a park where I sit reading. He, she, it—how can you tell—just rests there looking at me. The strange thing is, I know this butterfly, for it came to keep me company last summer, for three days, at the same table. By the third day, I had a weird feeling that this insect knew me and, perhaps, intended to communicate something. I addressed a couple of questions his, her, its way but… nothing, at least as far as I could tell. Then, it disappeared. I thought it must have died, or been eaten by a bird. How long do butterflies live anyway? But that’s the question, because the same butterfly is back. I’m sure of it. I am not dreaming, and I sure as hell am not Chuang Tzu. For just a moment last year, I wondered whether I was being visited by the spirit of someone I knew. But now…? Suddenly the butterfly wiggles its antennae and flies away. I can’t help feeling I’m going somewhere.




Robert Witmer lives in Tokyo, Japan, where he served as a Professor of English at Sophia University until his retirement in 2022. His poems have appeared in many journals and anthologies. He has also published two books of poetry: Finding a Way (2016) and Serendipity (2023).

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