Beating Wings & Butterfly Effect. Butterfly That is No Longer Cocooned- Change. You & I Are Nothing but a Supernova- And We Are Everything, The World.

By April Dawn Ricchuito

I will not go gently into that good night, for my effects on the universe will be seen for centuries. (Image courtesy of Discovery News Blog¹)

A Poem for Education in Sudan
A Poem for Change

Each morning the sunlight gently stirs my eyelashes
Fluttering against my face like butterflies on a flower
And I open the windows to my soul
To the world I know.

My heart is beating just like yours
Like the wings of the butterfly
That are stirring the air
Creating a gentle breeze that cools my face

It is the wind- carrying a song of peace.
The winds of change are upon my village
And the world is on my shoulders
It is up to us to carry the sun
And shine the light upon the world

I carry the future.

I am the future.

Teach me what you know.

And I will use it to make myself better-
Though I am all ready perfect, just the way I am.
Because like you, I am a child of the stars.

I- we- are made from the death of the stars²
4.5 billion years ago*.
I came from a supernova*- a beautiful bright explosion.

I am wise.
I am connected with my land; my village…
My heart.

Iron, which is strong, is in my blood like yours*.

Heavy metals made from explosions of stars*.
Carbon, that makes diamonds*
That sparkle like the stars.
And twinkle in the light like my eyes when I laugh, when I am happiest.
When I am sharing your secrets with you.

Learning.

Give me wings, so I can fly
Amongst the stars, where we were born.
Like the butterfly, whose wings are beating
Bringing change.

I had a conversation with him, the butterfly.
He told me that breaking out of his cocoon does not hurt.
He told me a secret, and told me to share it with you.

He is made from stardust too.

And so are you.

Like me.

I am strong.

I am strong and beautiful.
Like the butterfly,
Wings-
I can change things.

I can carry the future.

I can carry the world.

Please teach me, I want to help!

A child is a child of everyone.
That is what they say in my village.

And it is true, because we are all children of the stars.

They died so we could live.
And it is beautiful.

You are not insignificant in making a change-
Neither am I.

The stars told me so.

Be my North star.
And I will forever guide you
To a brighter future.

Home.

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1- Gugliucci, Nicole.  (2010). Explore a Lopsided Supernova. Retrieved from Discovery News on May 1, 2011:  http://news.discovery.com/space/explore-a-lopsided-supernova.html

2*- Lowstein, Michael & Fredericks, Amy. (2005.) “Ask an Astrophysicist”, Imagine the Universe! High Energy Astrophysics Science Archive Research Center (HEASARC) & Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Dedicated to my grandfather, Domenic Ricchuito, who worked at NASA, and read Carl Sagan (who famously said “We are made of star stuff”.) And who taught me about the universe and how it works, and is the reason I can even fathom quantum physics or quantum biology. He is now back at home amongst the stars in the space he loved so much. Dedicated to my grandmother, Marlene Ricchuito, a special education teacher, who touched the lives of many of her students with her gifts of love and patience-whose selfless example taught me how to be compassionate and to treat everyone as an equal. She is the reason I can love unconditionally. They understood the importance of education and made me go to school when I didn’t want too, and I thank them for that- because now I understand the importance of education- and equality- for all.

This poem was written for She’s the First‘s poetry month, which reached its goal on the last day of poetry month- to sponsor an education for a girl in Sudan.  Congratulations!