As a Butterfly

words by Sofia Heartney, art by Hannah Nguyen

My Lola died, but now she comes as a butterfly.

She visits all her grandchildren,

Unencumbered by oceans.

Flying, 

Flying, 

Flying,

Skimming the breeze.

Across the waves of the Pacific,

And to the land that made a complex home.

We sit on my balcony now,

And I tell her about:

School, friends, ambitions.

I always thought we would have more time,

I don’t know why.

To learn Tagalog and live on the islands,

To really see one another.

Now it’s too late,

but it doesn’t quite feel that way.

Maybe we saw each other the whole time.

Sofia Heartney is a fourth year at UVA, double majoring in Political & Social Thought and English, with a concentration in Modern and Global Studies. She also is the Editor-in-Chief of the Virginia Review of Politics, and a Prose Editor for the Virginia Literary Review.