Butterfly Lion
A haiku inspired by Michael Morpurgo’s book.
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My Prince, white and blue.
Lost, and then my wish came true:
Butterflies for you.
For the fifth collaboration in the Words and Pictures Project, artist Laura Slade and I took inspiration from Michael Morpurgo’s 2016 children’s book ‘The Butterfly Lion’. I read it, loved it, and — prompted by Courtney Symons and her wonderful 100 day haiku project — I set myself the challenge of encapsulating my experience of the story in 17 syllables.
Laura read it, cried, and painted this incredible watercolour.
The haiku ‘Butterfly Lion’ is about Morpurgo’s main character Bertie and his lion ‘Le Prince Blanc’. For me, there is more than one story in ‘The Butterfly Lion’: the “boy meets girl” thread deserves its own panegyric, so I invite you to read another poem written as part of this collaboration, about Bertie and Millie.
To purchase vibrant watercolour paintings inspired by nature and commission animal portraits, visit https://www.laurasladeart.co.uk
