The Elusive Butterfly

 Those of you from my generation might recognize that title. On Facebook one day, an old friend of mine posted some lyrics and challenged everyone to name the title and the artist.

You might wake up some morning,
To the sound of someone drifting past your window in the wind.
 
My friend posted more than that, but having played the song on my guitar, I immediately knew it was Elusive Butterfly, from the nineteen seventies. I sang the song in my mind and realized a hidden message, I never noticed before.

I don’t know whether the meaning was intended, but let me explain the reference, first. Have you noticed a fascination with butterflies in our transgender culture? Another friend posted a picture of her new butterfly necklace and one of the comments said, “Butterflies are free.”

Yes, they are, but that’s not the point. Butterflies are truly transitional. They spend their lives from the egg, working toward an event. Then when the time comes, they morph into the beautiful butterfly, they were intended to be. There is more than just the obvious in that example, but we, transgender people, undergo transition to become the butterfly we always wanted to be.

That is the reason so many of us wear butterfly jewelry. It reminds us of, who we want to be. The jewelry also identifies us to other, like minded, people. It’s all about symbolism to many of us. To others, it’s just a butterfly.

Getting back to the song, in the chorus we find,

Don’t be concerned, it will not harm you.
It’s only me, pursuing something I’m not sure of.
Across my dreams, with nets of wonder, I chase the bright, elusive, butterfly of love.

Sure, it’s about a guy with a net, chasing butterflies. Why is he doing that in the middle of the night? Is he actually stalking the girl? Is he a peeping Tom?

I believe, he’s coming in from a night out, cross-dressed in his preferred gender and he’s trying to find a way of telling her. He’s outing himself in hopes she will understand, and accept the her he wants to be.

He’s chasing the transgender butterfly and I’m amazed I never noticed it before.