Butterfly

People are so fascinated by others’ success that they often forget to acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices someone had to go through to reach the point they did. It is like admiring talent without valuing one’s potential.

“Butterfly” by Sahithi Mandapati shows how an affectionate soul wants to help an ambitious spirit in his backbreaking journey in the brutal world seeking success.

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Cover Photo by Krishna Guttikonda

Butterfly, an unwanted nickname…

“Can I call you butterfly?”

He looked at me for a mere second and laughed out loud

“Who in the world gives such a nickname to a man?” he said.

Maybe it’s true no one ever wants to call them an insect name. But he never knew that that animal is the one that would describe him more perfectly than anything in the world.

Everyone notices its beauty

Just like...

Everyone notices his smile

Everyone notices its wings

Just like...

Everyone notices his talents

Everyone notices its unique patterns

Just like...

Everyone notices his unique personality

But

No one notices its struggles

Just like...

No one notices his unstable life

No one notices it when it’s a caterpillar

Just like...

No one notices his past

No one notices its ugly fat shape as a caterpillar

Just like...

No one noticed his presence when he was a kid

And out of all these things

A caterpillar builds a cocoon for itself to become a beautiful butterfly

I want to be a cocoon for him

I want to secure him tightly in my arms when he is hurt

I want to hold him in my embrace when others hate him for who he is

I want to let him know that I can be his hideaway when he is delicate and sensitive

I want to let him know that I love him not because he is like a butterfly but because he stayed strong like a caterpillar

I want to let him know that I want him not because he is unique but because he is hard-working and fragile

I want to let him know I admire him not because he is beautiful but because he was able to spread his wings out of all this chaos in his life

But

He never wants to ask why I want to call him a butterfly

And I never want to tell him this untold truth

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Credits

This contribution is proofread by Sreekar Ayyagari & photographed by Krishna Guttikonda.

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Product

This poem is available in paperback & ebook.

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