Young swift legs running once again from a problem,
in fear, trampling over every single potential blossom.
The shouting in Anika's home never ended,
no matter how much her mother's pride had bended.

Within minutes she wound up winded by a lake,
with so much anxiety and anger her hands did shake.
As another scared and lost girl before her discovered,
it was by this lake that a strange old woman hovered.

Without a word the woman handed her a ring,
with no warning of what the trinket would bring.
On it a monarch butterfly was the main feature,
and all of a sudden all her emotions did reach her.

The butterfly was her grandmother's most cherished,
and Anika had clung to them since she perished.
Her tears started to flow in front of the stranger,
and the girl clung to her, hoping she wasn't a danger.

"Put it on when there is too much for you to face,
when all your fears swirl and your heart does race.
I know from all your worries you wish to escape,
but running away greatly changes your soulscape."

Suddenly the woman disappeared in a flash,
and Anika out of shock did to the ground crash.
She woke to the frantic shaking of her mother,
wondering if she needed to run to get her brother.

Anika assured her she could walk on her own,
all the while wondering how long she'd lain prone.
The ring still clutched tightly in her right hand,
finding that she could truly on her own feet stand.

The girl was brought home and given a rest,
and the ring's power had not yet received a test,
but the day would come when Anika had a choice,
to fly away or to use her trembling hands and voice.

A few week's had gone right on by,
and still Anika had not learned how to fly.
It was just another school day with her friends,
a group of girls not seen through a loving lense.

All struggled with their looks and their weight,
and each day some kind of teasing was their fate.
Today in front of a crowded hallway there was pain,
as a group of boys let all the nasty insults rain.

Anika ran all by self to the bathroom in a panic,
emotions so high she contemplated something tragic,
but she remembered in her pocket the ring did sit,
not certain what it'd do, but she hoped it would fit.

She slipped the ring on a trembling finger,
looking to escape as she had been through the ringer.
There was suddenly inside her all sorts of tremor,
feeling so strange right down to her center.

Right in front of the mirror she did change shape,
and now she knew how to use the ring to escape.
The scared pudgy girl no longer exsisted,
because into a monarch butterfly she had shifted.

Inside she was elated as she could leave it all behind,
because she was tired of the life she was assigned.
She flitted around with her new wings with glee,
because she now could from it all finally flee.

No more nights of fear caused by her drunken father,
or facing kids daily that were nothing but bother.
So out the open window she did happily fly,
dreaming of a life of nothing but peace and open sky.

Off to the football field to play in a nearby meadow,
but instead of fun, she found a moment to grow.
One of her friends was trapped under the bleachers,
a boy blocking her exit, causing fear on her features.

He had her by the arm while yelling more insults,
and her butterfly brain feared the worst results.
Guilt flooded for trying to leave her friends behind,
she knew each one of them were a rare find.

She remembered that running changes the soul,
flying off on her own would take too great a toll.
She landed on top of the bleachers to devise a plan,
wanting to teach this boy he was not a man.

Not sure what to do as a butterfly, her mind raced,
starting to think of every problem she never faced.
She was sick of letting fear be what did control her,
but in facing this kind of threat she was an amateur.

"I wish I could just go and as myself try to face him,
no matter if my chances of winning are slim."
All of a sudden the feelings of strange did return,
for once again being herself she did yearn.

Anika morphed back into the form of a girl,
and she decided to just jump down on him in a whirl.
She landed on his back with an angry yell,
for hurting her friend, she was going to give him hell.

The whole thing happened in such a blur,
but somehow the friends gave his retreat a spur.
They both faced him down as a bonded pair,
and magically won as they each sent up a prayer.

Anika grabbed her friend after in a tight hug,
and inside thanked her for giving her heart a tug.
She knew now there were many reasons to stay,
so she tore the ring off and chucked it away.

© Kai Amber