Large Blue Butterflies Poem by gershon hepner

I’ve heard that Large Blue butterflies can mimic
ants, as I can poets like Charles Simic,
and lay its eggs on flowers of wild thyme
as I lay words on verses that must rhyme
in order for the poem to succeed.
Although these large blue butterflies don’t read,
they’re programmed to deceive red ants as I
am programmed, too, to fool and mystify,
conceiving tricky wordplays where a word
means not what readers first think they have heard,
just like the Large Blues when they all conceive
confusing caterpillars that deceive
red ants, producing smells and making noise
that turns them into tiny ant decoys,
so that the Large Blue caterpillars are
adopted by the ants they fool. Bizarre
to think that I’m just like a Large Blue butter-
fly because of wordplay that I utter!
Because of this I will no longer choose
as muse Charles Simic, but the butterblues!
The Large Blue (Maculinea arion) butterfly became extinct in the United Kingdom in 1979, but has since been reintroduced by conservationists. Large Blue caterpillars feed on wild Thyme or Marjoram flowers for the first few days of development. Afterwards, they seek out the nests of Myrmica sabuleti, a specific species of red ant, and hibernate inside their tunnels. On emerging from hibernation, the caterpillars will then begin to eat the red ant's eggs and larvae for up to 3 weeks. It will then hang itself by its legs on the nest's roof and build a chrysalis around itself. The caterpillar will spend a further 3 weeks transforming into the Large Blue butterfly adult. © 2009

6/16/09