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, opens in new tab 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, opens in new tab; the only plant where monarchs lay their eggs and caterpillars feed.
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, opens in new tab, 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
