Broken Wings

Still recovering from a stroke, after which she had to learn practically everything anew, including speech, an elderly friend now has to learn to live with a lower leg amputation and with pain but without free movement. Yesterday, I saw her photograph. She smiled widely despite the bandages and the huge facial bruise she had earned when she fell out of bed. Later I saw a beaten butterfly, a Gulf Fritillary, fighting for balance and nectar in a powerful, chilly wind. Surely the butterfly can't live much longer with much of wing torn away, I thought. But it persisted and fed and held to the blooms.My friend and the fritillary are both broken, both determined, and both beautiful.