Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies

Four small lives in motion, each holding a different truth about today… and the uncertain tomorrow.




Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies


The bee’s knees
are busily pollinating
today’s flowers,
for tomorrow.

The bird’s eyes
are warily overseeing
today’s world,
mindful about tomorrow.

The beetle’s legs
are curiously wandering
toward today’s horizon,
still searching for tomorrow.

The butterfly’s wings
are wistfully fluttering,
knowing today’s sunny sky
won’t shine on them tomorrow.






Let the song settle over the small creatures of today, reminding us of how tender tomorrow truly is.



Ivor Steven ©  September 2026

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ivor20

G'day, and welcome to my blog site. My name is Ivor Steven, I live in Geelong, Australia. I'm an ex-industrial chemist, and a retired plumber, and a former Carer of my wife(Carole), for 30 years, who suffered from severe MS. I Write poetry about those personal thoughts, throughout and beyond my life as a Carer. I've been blogging for over 2 years, and writing poems for 19 years. Of course a lot of my poems are about my favourite subject Carole, but since I've been blogging my writings have become quite varied, humourous, mystical, observational, and even a few monster/horror poems.

26 thoughts on “Bees, Birds, Beetles, and Butterflies”

  5. Beautiful photos! Bold, brilliant (and truth-filled) tribute poem! Beautiful song!
    Those little ones as so benevolent and so important to the world! 🙂 Thank you for honoring them today! 🙂 (((HUGS))) ❤️🐞🐝🪲🕊️🦋❤️

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  11. Ivor, what strikes me most about this poem is how each creature carries its own distinct relationship with time, the bee working purposefully toward tomorrow, the bird watchful of it, the beetle still searching for it, and then that heartbreaking turn with the butterfly, who knows tomorrow’s sun simply isn’t for them. That progression from hopeful to elegiac in just four short stanzas is quietly devastating, especially paired with your own photos rather than borrowed images. It’s such a tender reminder that “tomorrow” isn’t a guarantee for any of us, however busy we are pollinating our own flowers today.

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    1. Thank you for your wonderfully accurate assessment of what I was trying to achieve through the four short stanzas … my photos seemed be saying something to me … at first, I didn’t see it, but then I placed ‘Butterfly’ as a finale stanza, and the other little critters stanzas soon found their pecking order, Khadija

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