THE MONARCH’S PROGRESS

Using a variety of poetic forms and devices, Harley follows monarch butterflies through a cycle of development and migration. Sandwiched between an introduction and a closing section of comments on each poem, the 18 entries range from a ruminative sonnet on having taste receptors on one’s feet (“If we would let our toes seek what we eat, / what smorgasbord would greet our eager feet?”) to a haiku observation that “there are no borders / for the migrating monarchs. / It is all one land.” Along with various rhyme schemes, Harley constructs several verses in which the first letters in each line spell out either the alphabet or the title: “Caterpillar” begins, “Comma-size / And worldly wise, / The tiny caterpillar arrives / Eager to feed. . . . ” The painted illustrations are attractive—it’s hard to portray monarchs otherwise—and accurate. Young poets and naturalists should both be drawn to this. (Poetry. 7-10)