The Weight of a Butterfly

waterweed
floating away, despite
the butterfly’s weight on it          Chiyo-Ni (Tr. Ueda)

sheen of sunlight on its wings
spectacular swallowtail               Kim M. Russell, 7^th February 2019

My response to Carpe Diem #1601 Tan Renga Challenge Month 2019 (5) the weight of a butterfly

In a new episode of the Tan Renga Challenge month, we have a less known haiku by female haiku master Chiyo-Ni. The challenge is to create a Tan Renga with it by adding a two-lined second stanza of approximately 14 syllables.

When I read the original haiku, it brought the swallowtail butterfly to mind. A large butterfly, one of the rarest and most spectacular, the Britannicus is found in wet fenland and is currently restricted to the Norfolk Broads, close to where I live.