St Francis' satyr

Katherine Moss

Place it on the scales
the dial quivers but rests at nought
it weighs nothing. 
Throw away your weights and measures
they make you look foolish. 

Place it in your palm
this insubstantial mass puzzles you. 
Pass it from hand to hand 
like a burning morsel.

Place it on the ground
it is destined to defy gravity.
Bear the burden of fluttering wings 
pinned into stillness.

Pinch the thorax between your finger and thumb,  
long chambered hearts run the length of this body
inside forgiveness has grown tall.

Place it in a box 
close the lid, walk away.
Sense a shadow that stills
half a moment after you stop.

The Science

The poem ‘St Francis’ satyr’ is a meditation upon the resilience and resourcefulness of Nature. Using the St Francis’ satyr (Neonympha mitchellii fransici) as exemplar, the narrative measures the delicate balance between the restoration and near extinction of a species. The poem explores how the butterfly’s fragility belies Nature’s resolute instinct for survival. The St Francis’ satyr is an endangered butterfly subspecies thought to have become extinct in the 1980s. One of the rarest butterflies in the US, its population reduced by the loss of wetland habitats. It has adapted to flourish in a swamp on a military installation at Fort Bragg, North Carolina close to artillery ranges. Its ability to thrive in the chaotic and destructive environment of heavy bombing and widespread fires, inspired me to write a poem that positions the St Francis’ satyr as a metaphor for Nature. The destruction and degradation of native habitat caused by human activities represents the greatest threat to biodiversity worldwide (Wilcove et al. 1998). With the permission of Colonel Scott Pence, a temporary training ceasefire and a good pair of waders, it may be possible to see this most enigmatic of butterflies one day.

The Poet

Katherine Moss is a writer and MA student at The Manchester School of Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK. Her interests include environmental issues, particularly the erosion of greenspace in deprived areas of the North of England and its vital link between health and wellbeing. Her monologue, ‘Linda’s Shield’ was performed by The Garrick Theatre in 2020, a story that reflected the devastating impact of the high Covid-19 mortality rates in the UK. Her poems can be found in her university’s publication aAh! She recently worked as an editor on a Children’s book of short stories, ‘Tales of the Bold, the Brave and the Beautiful’, published in June 2022. 

Next poem: The invisible love story between viruses and immunity by Delphine Depierreux