Releasing Butterflies
by Dawn Johnson
About Releasing Butterflies
A Note from the Author.
Over the years, like most of us, I have fallen in love and out of love. I’ve known the pain of unrequited love, and love received and returned with great pleasure—the heartbreak and the heartaches that come. I’ve made some good decisions, some bad, and some decisions I’ll take to my grave. But every time, I learned a lesson about self-love and selfish love.
Releasing Butterflies is a book of love poems seen through the life cycle of a butterfly. It’s my gift to you. It’s my story and your story, It’s all of us. It’s about love, growth, and change.
It’s about the beginning, the egg stage also known as the innocent miracle of first love or new love. It’s about the constant overflow of effortless, faith-filled emotions. All those sweet whispered promises of forever and always.
It’s about the caterpillar stage. That ugly stage, the difficult and necessary stage. That stage where I struggled and fought to be seen, to be heard, and to be known. It’s about embracing stupid decisions and crazy moments. It’s about all those prayers to God pleading for Him to give me the strength to make it through the night because I wasn’t sure if I’d make it to daybreak. It’s about feeling like I would die. And finding out I didn’t. It’s the birth pangs, regret pangs, and finding myself in a pit, still with the strength that’s borne out of the struggle to break free, and it is exactly what I needed. It’s about knowing and learning how to love myself, even if it doesn’t look perfect. Because I am not perfect and never will be. It’s the stage when God worked His perfect work in me. Because I can do absolutely nothing of myself, I had to give myself the space to grieve, learn, and grow up. I learned to completely give myself over to His perfect will for my life. And with a smile and acceptance, I could see myself breaking free. And all that fear, reluctance, and shame melted away and allowed me to be able to embrace the miracle and grace of God’s love.
It's about the butterfly stage. My coming out and showing the world how beautiful I have become. I am flying light and airy with colorful, beautiful wings. No longer weighed down by the spirits of guilt, shame, hurt, and defeat. And yes, occasionally, I find myself going off course, but I quickly correct my course, straighten my wings, and remember who and whose I am. The lessons I’ve learned are all around me. They are in my spirit, and I find myself offering up wisdom like nuggets of candy. All that struggle has made my wings strong. I know what metamorphosis has produced in me and I will try with every fiber of my being to be true to it.
The Author.
Dawn Johnson.
Dawn M. Johnson was born in Ripley, TN, and raised in Detroit, MI., with summers spent in her mother’s hometown of Henning, TN. Dawn is an interior designer and design consultant, specializing in kitchens, bathrooms, color selections, and interior architecture.
Dawn loves God, the bible, bible study, and hosting Sunday dinners for family and friends. She is a pound cake baker and loves all things kitchen, long walks, and quiet rainy nights. She is an avid reader. She loves politics and sports (especially football and golf). She also enjoys spending time in her second home, Statesboro, GA. She is a long-time member of Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in Hamtramck, MI.
Dawn is working on her second book of poetry, “Come This Far," as well as a novel titled One, Two, Three and Forever. She currently resides in Oak Park, MI.
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