"Butterflies are a sign from God," she said,

with no devotion to a diety of her own.

"It means things are or will be okay,"

her grandfather used to say.

I saw a butterfly today.

It fluttered past and around,

winding, turning, gliding up and down

like the twists and turns of life,

He's gone,

He's not yours anymore,

but smile, you'll be okay.

Where do you go from here?

What if it's not what you expected?

What if they don't like you?

You'll say goodbye to your friends, leave your family behind,

"We'll keep in touch."

What if you don't achieve your dreams that seem muddled in the fog,

What if you get where you're headed and it only feels wrong,

What if your brother gets lost and can't find his way back,

What if you come back and find that everything's changed?

What if your fingers forget how to play?

What if your blood once again turns thick, and its levels, again, start to drop quick?

What if your uncertainaty finally eats you alive...

But what if everything turns out better than you imagined they could?

What if you don't get what you want,

but you find what you need

and it turns out to better than anything that you ever had?

She said butterflies are a sign of God,

that lets you know that you're okay,

that a simple kind word can go a long way,

that such a small thing can shine through the dark,

and that a smile can heal a heart...

That memories aren't meant for pain,

and that joy can be found 

if we learned to dance

in the 

rain.