Curiously Isolated
by Michael Doyle

The Rockies abruptly pull upward.
Away from drifting downward, 
Not toward the prairie grass
Surprisingly, found in this mountain pass

An insect flutters blade to blade,
Sipping at flowered nectar to persuade
Life to go on as it rearranges
Despite all the inbreeding and climate changes.

40,000 years of splendid isolation
And still to science's fascination
It's coloration was something close to drab
Significant without a distinctive grab

Alone for ages on its evolutionary trajectory 
This butterfly had no need for math or history
Its number was tiny, and its story a mystery
But its name was necessary for its identity

A wildfire blazed through, causing calamity,
For this small numbered species in its vulnerability.
Genetics met victory for the curiously isolated hairstreak,
Sustaining as it did between Rocky Mountain peaks. 

It hangs on as it does there on the river's edge, 
Hovering and sipping on nectar well below the ledge. 
It strives without knowing that its kind must go on;
It's that, or each of this kind will be drably gone.

(c) May 8, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved