I'm not usually into poetry, but this reminds me of what we've lost. It's been years since I've seen one of these -

POETRY
Monarchs of the 70s
By Sheila E Sanchez Hatch

More astounding than snow in south Texas
was that one October; years ago
when San Antonio awoke to a butterfly dawn.

We kids ran out to yards
and streets lit up with them.
And, across the school grounds,
it seemed every tree leaf
on every oak held an orange blossom.
The merry-go-rounds,
the fence railings, and water fountains,
our scarves and coats,
even our amazed faces became landings
for those flying flowers.

Some of them flit around
like snowflakes in autumn,
tattered and worn they fell
to the ground and the wind
scattered them about like
fall leaves.

Why did they go so far away
that only a few would ever return?

The English and math lessons of that day
are like the distant phases of the moon now.
Although, one mention
of the monarchs flying to Mexico
that October, makes our hearts start beating
with wild butterfly wings.

The monarchs are migrating through here right now. I hit one with the truck on the way home from town the other day and it made my son and me both really sad. I know they are more sparse than they used to be, but my memory isn't good enough to recall how much denser they were in the 70s in Houston. There do seem to be a lot this year, though.

We've also been seeing quite a few honeybees since it cooled off and we got rain. It feels more like spring than fall. Everything is coming back to life. I can feel winter around the corner, though.