Painted Lady Butterfly

The painted lady waits outside the court
While the monarch acts in his mourning cloak.
An autumn leaf falls to the ground back and forth, back and forth.
Soon the king will lay in her arms within the fort,
No rice paper gatekeeper there to betray secrets

Fatal metalmarks along green marble hallways,
Gruesome reminders of the attack of the Duke of Burgundy
Yet the monarch lays upon silk of Sonoran blue.
In his bed with the painted lady, his scepter raised
Waiting for her to descend, a golden birdwing to feast.

The silver emperor in mountains far, a peacock among pigeons,
Gazes upon the clouded yellow scroll:
His nephew still breathes; crafty as a small wood nymph.
His plan gone awry, soon directly he must spar
To make this threat a crimson patch upon the ground.

“We must flee,” says the painted lady, her lustrous copper eyes wide,
Her golden hairstreak peaks from a kimono’s fold
From behind a large tortoiseshell partition the king speaks
“Leave my kingdom and my line to run and hide”?
The speckled wood hides her teardrops as he leaves.

Beneath the gaze of the fiery skipper she watches from the ship’s rail.
Orange sulphur belches from a passing steam boat.
The wandering skipper knows not to get too close.
Fool he was to take on the lady to a foreign land to sail,
But his clipper had never failed him.

The painted lady sat below deck, her hands on her womb,
Left behind was her monarch love.
She was fleeing with one last gift and a rusty-tipped page;
The king’s heir, her salvation or her doom.
Across from her a pine satyr twirling a velvet rose.

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This is for a dVerse prompt: So, for today, I’ve composed a list of common butterfly names taken from several online sites. [ … ] Choose at least three of the names from the list below and include them in your poem.

The list:

Appalachian azure
Autumn leaf
Clipper
Clouded yellow
Crimson Patch
Duke of Burgundy
Fatal Metalmark
Fiery skipper
Gatekeeper
Golden birdwing
Golden Hairstreak
Green marble
Large Tortoiseshell
Lustrous copper
Miami Blue
Monarch
Mourning Cloak
Orange Sulphur
Painted Lady
Peacock
Pine Satyr
Rice paper
Rusty-tipped page
Silver Emperor
Silver-banded Hairstreak
Small Wood nymph
Sonoran Blue
Speckled wood
Spring white
Velvet rose
Wandering skipper

How many from the list can you find in my poem? 😁 Thanks for reading!