A Monarch butterfly

as i idled in the garden
while the sun came down for his visit
i heard a Monarch butterfly revving an engine,
squealing tires in a puff of foul black smoke
disappearing into a stealthy toxic haze
part pesticide induced and part no one gave a shit
about killing all the milkweed plants
and the larvae had no place to go because
a complex of concrete highways extended all the way to the coast.
the single Monarch butterfly heard the lawn mowers'
piercing growl and being an orphan had no one to be
responsible for, so in a brilliant maneuver
he got the hell out of there, but where he went
no one to this day knows.
despite the plundering, there are animals to be seen
but more of them are men.
men are loyal and self-serving, it's true, but without wings
they can not fly with the grace of a butterfly.