Monarch

Tiny creature, you

wander Earth, reach...for the moon;

dream & spin cocoons.

--

With the chirps of birds

you emerge, flare blush wings...{{surge}};

in the air you bloom.

—

Water waits for you.

Migrate, (make a show...) brave the

Gulf of Mexico.

--

Trees aglow with bright,

light that gleams - (a desired scene);

Monarch, fire, ** *Queen* **.

--

-Gina C. 🧚‍♀️✨

Author's Note: In this compound haiku, I strived to capture the blooming beauty of a monarch butterfly - both emblematically and non-figuratively - while also using the four elements to tell the story of its remarkable migrational journey to southern Mexico. Although there are two regionally distinct populations of monarchs in the U.S. - both with completely different yet equally impressive migration patterns - this haiku was written as a tribute to the Eastern Monarchs, whose annual journey includes water.

The annual migration of the monarch butterflies is an occurrence that has enchanted and mystified people for centuries. To me, however, it has always been something I've also considered quite poetic. Read on to learn (or re-learn! ☺️) more about the monarchs' incredible journey, their cultural significance, and to gain more insight into the elements of my haiku.

Fluttering South, then North Again - a Quest for Multiple Generations

Each year, during the autumn months of September, October, and November, hundreds of thousands of Eastern Monarchs in the northeastern U.S. and southern regions of Canada fly an astonishing 2,500-3,000 miles to their winter resting spot in the warm oyamel fir forests of southern Mexico.

In March, this "overwintering" population of monarchs will begin to fly north again. However, they will never return to their original home. Instead, they will settle in the southern U.S. states, lay eggs, and live out the rest of their lives there.

The offspring from the overwintering population is considered the "first generation". In late April and May, they will continue the journey back to their parent's native location. However, they will never make it there either. They will fly north until it is time for them to stop and lay their own eggs, as will their offspring.

It will take four generations before a population of monarchs reaches the northeastern U.S. and southern region of Canada again. 🥲 The fourth generation is the migratory population, and these butterflies are born instinctively knowing they must fly south - even when all generations before them have flown north!

Stumping Scientists. Magic?

The fact that only one out of four generations of monarchs will migrate south has intrigued scientists for years, and they are still not completely certain how the monarchs find their way to their winter home. According to the U.S. Forest Service, "Researchers are still investigating what directional aids monarchs use to find their overwintering location. (U.S. Forest Service, 2023). While some believe the monarchs use the sun as a guide, others suggest they might also have an internal magnetic compass - much like birds do - that assist the butterflies in orienting themselves on cloudy days.

Attracting the Masses

Thousands of people flock to see the Eastern Monarchs each year as they pass through various resting points on their way to Mexico; flashing their flame-like brillance. Although each monarch flies in a relatively straight and southbound direction, these resting points are fanned out over the southern and midwestern states due to the fact that the Eastern Monarchs begin their journey in a respective stretch of the northern U.S. and southern region of Canada. Resting points where the Eastern Monarchs can be admired mid-journey include wildlife refuges in Virgina, Kansas, Iowa, and Texas.

The Final Stop Before Water

Those monarchs traveling down the eastcoast will pause to catch their breath in Florida's St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. The Floridian penninsula serves as the monarchs' final, mid-journey resting point before they then fly 900 miles over the open water of the Gulf of Mexico! (Morse, 2023).

Second Home

When the monarchs finally reach Mexico, they settle in the oyamel fir forests, which are extremely limited and reclusive. The oyamel fir trees - known as abies religiosa in Spanish - are considered sacred and only grow on twelve of the many mountain tops that make up the Sierra Madre Mountain Range. (Journey North, 2023). There, nestled among these very special trees and atop of those mystical, cloudy peaks, people from Mexico and all over the world are drawn to take in the monarchs' fiery beauty.

And thus, I envisioned her (for this poem) as a Queen.

mon·arch: a sovereign head of state, especially a king, queen, or emperor. (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023)

But Seriously - To Some - Monarchs Are Spirits

In cultures all around the world, the butterfly is thought of as a symbol of hope, personal growth, enlightenment, and transformation. We often even use the word "metamorphosis" to describe our own, human ability to undergo change.

However, the people of the forests of central Mexico - where the migrational monarchs reside for five months out of their eight month lifespan - have a very special, spiritual belief centered around the monarch butterfly in particular.

In order to fully understand the significance that the natives of these beautiful, rare forests tie to the monarch, one must first be somewhat familiar with Día de los muertos - or the "Day of the Dead" - which is a Mexican holiday meant to help people remember and celebrate their late loved ones.

Día de los muertos begins in November, and is timed precisely with the arrival of the monarchs. It is believed that the monarchs carry the souls of long-lost loved ones on their backs - bringing them into the arms of their living family members and reuniting them again for one single night. (Monarch Joint Venture, 2023).

Monarchs as Victims of Climate Change

Now that I have (hopefully!) convinced you to fall completely in love with monarch butterflies, it is with deep sorrow that I bring up the fact that these beautiful, phenomenal creatures - both the eastern and the western populations - have recently been added to INCU Red List as an endangered species.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature website states that climate change is one of the biggest causes for recent, significant drops in monarch populations. In the western states, drought has restricted the abundance of the monarchs' main source of nectar - milkweed - and has increased the preveleance of wildfire, which destroys the monarchs' natural habitats and resting spots. (IUCN, 2023)

Here is a perfect place to point out that while the Eastern Monarchs overwinter in Mexico, the Western Monarchs overwinter in California - where wildfires have devastated acres upon acres of the forests and plains that milkweed naturally grows in.

For more information about how climate change has impacted California, see my recent story, Petrichor.

In addition to doughts and fires, however, warming global temperatures have also started to prompt the monarchs to begin their migrational journeys before milkweed is available at their next destination, which causes them to arrive and then starve. 😔

To further iriterate the monarchs' current state of peril, here is a direct quote from the IUCN: "The western population is at greatest risk of extinction, having declined by an estimated 99.9%, from as many as 10 million to 1,914 butterflies between the 1980s and 2021. The larger eastern population also shrunk by 84% from 1996 to 2014. Concern remains as to whether enough butterflies survive to maintain the populations and prevent extinction." (IUCN, 2023)

With all this said, the beautiful cloud and oyamel fir forests where the Eastern Monarchs overwinter are - due to forest degradation, illegal logging, and climate change - also currently under severe threat. (Monarch Joint Venture, 2023).

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, I would like to end not with conclusion, but with pause.

Keeping in mind that monarchs are not only extremely beneficial pollinators - but also sources of beauty, wonder, and spiritual significance - what would it mean for us if these fascinating creatures were to disapear from the Earth forever?

Could a symbol of hope, positive transformation, and personal growth remain an emblem for all of these inspirational things if the symbol itself - tragically - no longer exists?

While I'm not 100% certain as to what result I hope to get for writing this long of an afterward about the monarch butterflies, I do know I did it because they enchant me.

I wonder - melancholically - what a world without enchantment would be like.

References:

1. IUCN. (2023). Migratory Monarch Butterfly Now Endangered - IUCN Red List. https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202207/migratory-monarch-butterfly-now-endangered-iucn-red-list
2. Journey North. (2023). "The Monarch's Forest Ecosystem / Mexico's Oyamel Fir Forest". https://journeynorth.org/tm/monarch/SanctuaryFactsOyamel.html
3. Monarch Joint Venture. (2023). "Monarchs and Día de Muertos in Mexico". https://monarchjointventure.org/blog/monarchs-and-dia-de-muertos-in-mexico
4. Morse, S. (2023). "Five Super Stops on the Monarch Migration Trail". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. https://www.fws.gov/story/five-super-stops-monarch-migration-trail
5. U.S. Forest Service. (2023). The Monarch Butterfly in North America. https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/index.shtml

***

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