This lovely poem was written and kindly shared with us by Mr. Phil Ellsworth. It was composed for Margaret Ellsworth, his beloved wife of 55 years, whom he recently lost. The beautiful prose is a telling of their chance or maybe not so chance (was it the Butterfly Effect?) meeting many years ago. The poem and their story is further reflected upon by Mr. Ellsworth in the account written below.
Changed the World
and Swept me Where I Chanced to see You
Passing By? Dear Butterfly, Dear Butterfly…
© Phil Ellsworth
“I’ll tell you about the poem. I am a geologist so have had an interest in physics and have been interested in chaos and the butterfly effect. I met Margaret in Grand Junction in 1951 and then didn’t see her for over a year. Then by accident we met again while I was getting gas in Craig, Colorado, her home town, as I was traveling between Gillette, Wyoming, and Grand Junction. She was a nurse at the Craig hospital and had come off shift and gone to town on an errand. I believe that the state of the world at the instant of our meeting was due (in part, of course) to the flapping of some butterfly’s wings somewhere. How can I not have an affection for butterflies?” Phil Ellsworth
A most sincere thank you to Mr. Ellsworth for sharing this thought provoking and touching story with us. To read more about The Butterfly Effect click the following link…http://www.answers.com/topic/butterfly-effect-2
I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man. -Chuang Tzu