Esoteric Symbolism

Two butterflies went out at noon

And waltzed above a stream,

Then stepped straight through the firmament

And rested on a beam;

And then together bore away

Upon a shining sea,

Though never yet, in any port,

Their coming mentioned be.

If spoken by the distant bird

,If met in ether sea

By frigate or by merchantman,

Report was not to me.

by Emily Dickinson (1830–86)

Monument to Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai from the Chinese Legend of the Butterfly Lovers (near the Tombe di Giulietta in Verona, Italy)