BUTTERFLY KISSES, TURTLE TEARS

Photo credit: NBC News

This is my entry for SunWriteFun!  This contest requires a nonfiction or informational fiction story based on a theme of discover, exploration, or adventure.  Word limit is 200.  It's also posted on the contest website here.  I discovered this story last year and wrote it hoping to enter it in 50 Precious Words, but it was too complex to make it clear in 50, so I set it aside, and rewrote it a bit.  After more revision and help from CPs, this seemed like the perfect fit.  It was a fascinating discovery for me and I'm thrilled to share another of nature's mysterious and amazing cycles.  

Photo credit: https://thekidshouldseethis.com/post/turtle-tears-butterflies

Tonnye Williams Fletcher
153 words


In Peru,
where the Tambopata River flows,
an amazing discovery lingers. . .

Dark, rainy skies
lack the salt that Butterfly needs.
The rains have traveled far,
losing minerals along the way.

A brilliant sunrise
explodes in the rainforest. 
Pink, purple, and orange fireworks 
arch across the morning skies,
hints of color peeking through the canopy.
Bright sunlight is just what Turtle needs
to warm his cold blood.

Turtle lies,
basking on logs and rocks,
resting on the banks,
napping in patches of yellow sun,
soaking up the warmth,

Turtle cries-
shedding excess sodium –
leaky tears wash away the salt,
a gift for Butterfly who needs the minerals 
to survive.

Butterfly dries
Turtle’s tears; He drinks --
proboscis extended, sipping salty sorrow 
with its spiraled straw

Butterfly flies --
fluttering off to the weeds -
mineralized, fulfilled, sated.
ready to fly another day.



Nature testifies.
Creatures harmonize.
Turtle satisfies
the need of butterflies, as
Butterfly kisses turtle’s tears.

Photo credit: ​https://www.brut.media/us/nature/what-are-these-butterflies-doing-to-this-turtle--2e40a142-0bb1-4c0a-bb83-4ea101f41b47