“Butterflies,” by Tyleah Armstrong
May 25, 2016
Butterflies
Yesterday my name was
dazzling diamond.
Today my name is
bright shiny star,
soaring through the sky.
Sometimes I am an
empty house, a book with
no pages.
Strangers think
my name is amusing
charming rose.
People don’t know I am
silly princess, queen of
art, dazzling mermaid, rough
and tough.
My real name is a secret,
but I’ll tell you–
cheerful fashionista, princess
of butterflies.
Tyleah Armstrong wrote this poem while a student at Leschi Elementary School, with WITS Writer Jeanine Walker. Tyleah opened for a sold-out SAL Poetry Series event with Claudia Rankine on May 13, 2016.