(2026)
Jade orbs line the leaf
Transform, exist
Younglings endure the winter
For your fleeting spring
Challenge the red status and live
Age well and become silver
Change your stripes, arch your back
Display running rows of blue, green, orange and black
Challenge the red status and live
Age well and become silver
Change your stripes, arch your back
Display running rows of blue, green, orange and black
She stays hidden and low
The flightless moth rare and unseen
The male bolder and on show
But now also rare and unseen
Their home, their habitat, changed
Coastal dune imprinted with heavy human presence
Salt marsh now below the seen surface
Simply water, no marshland
Belly full of food and the new cycle
Crawl like the creeping willow on which you feed
Again the jade orbs line the leaf, but I count less
I hope next spring you are not gone
Continue to live away from human eyes unseen
Note: This poem was written for a local Environment and Nature Watch project.