Kingdom of the Monarchs: Where Awe Takes Flight

Written by Megan Ryssman, WWF’s Annual Giving Development Officer, and Monica Echeverria, WWF’s Director of Media and External Affairs

Visiting the monarch’s overwintering grounds in Mexico is an experience that words can hardly capture. It is a moment of awe, reverence, and recognition that we are witnessing one of the true miracles of nature. Each year, these incredible monarch butterflies travel up to 3,000 miles from Canada and the United States to Mexico, using a combination of environmental cues, the position of the Sun, Earth’s magnetic field, and an internal compass of knowledge from previous generations to navigate a journey they have never made before.

Somehow, they always find their way. When spring arrives, the same monarchs undertake another 1,000 miles heading back north, reaching the southern United States looking for milkweed; the only plant where monarchs lay their eggs and caterpillars feed from. 

A Pilgrimage to the Monarch Sanctuaries 

Our journey took us deep into the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, as we visited two sanctuaries: El Rosario and Sierra Chincua. These forests, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, provide the best microclimate and shelter conditions for millions of monarchs seeking refuge from the harsh northern winters. The monarch butterfly reserve is managed mainly by the work of local communities with technical and financial support from WWF and local partners. At both sanctuaries, we hiked through towering oyamel firs, guided by the soft whispers of butterfly wings overhead.

During a creative writing exercise, our group was guided to reflect on the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings we experienced while visiting these incredible sanctuaries. Since it is so difficult to explain the feeling of witnessing the monarchs in all their splendor, I’d like to share some of the poetry that was written by the trip members.

One of our fellow travelers, Lindsay Dearborn, captured the essence of our time at El Rosario with her beautiful words:

El Rosario

High forest scent, soft breeze  

Orange, black, white wings 

Rising and falling 

Living, dying 

Wordless awe 

A fragile universe surrounds me. 

There’s heartbreak in these mountains. 

– Lindsay Dearborn  

Our guide Daniel, who was part of the team guiding us through Mexico, reflected on the incredible monarch butterflies in his poem: 

Butterflies 3.2 

Fluttering, gliding 

specks of gold 

Mesmerizing hope 

Beautiful magnificence 

Forest alive, a sky 

littered with beauty. 

A cloud passes by 

and the forest shivers, 

branches quiver, butterflies 

alight and the sky 

is speckled with orange. 

 

Butterflies 3.b&c 

One thousand, one million 

fluttering wings 

whispers alight, flashes 

of color 

Floating messengers of hope 

vast expressions of levity. 

The unbearable lightness of being 

Lifted, transported 

inhale- grounded 

exhale- taken away (and vice versa) 

 

Today I sit  

and as I breathe in, 

I come more into being 

I dissolve, I am animal 

My spirit, the spirit  

of the forest lets itself be heard 

Signals and messages come- 

not unworldly, but as  

cold, hard, intuitive truth. 

As I exhale, I allow myself  

to become free. I am 

reminded by the butterflies 

I am my own blessing. 

I am my losses; I am the void. 

I am the beauty of a thousand butterflies. 

– Daniel Behn 

In light of the good news in recent monarch numbers – it is heartening to have so recently visited the monarchs and seen the joy and sense of wonder they bring to all who see them. Having the opportunity to see this firsthand and process the experience through poetry is truly an experience I will never forget.
 

The wonder of a monarch 

The whispering monarchs surrounded by immense shades of green 

Flying through the cool mountain air as people whisper with unbridled joy 

An array of plants and delicate flowers frame the orange beauties  

As they sun themselves on a branch, I feel overwhelmed with wonder. 

– Megan Ryssman