Reflections of a Butterfly 

by Raymond Grech

self-published, 2024

Poetry is essentially a spiritual art. It can resonate verse to a degree of a chant, or a prayer; it can also deepen our emulation to the universe, to our world itself, to nature, to other people and to God himself.

It invariably results in a state of deep contact with our subconscious, sometimes even to a state of meditation.

Spiritual poetry emerges in response to the question of human life, with all it has to offer, its joys and sufferings, in all its dimensions.

Raymond Grech is the doyen of spiritual poetry, and his previous publications have hugely guided this his latest collection of poems to an even more intense and deeper romp into a subject that takes life thanks to the symbolic metamorphosis of a caterpillar into a butterfly (thus the title of the book).

This metamorphosis gradually cries desperately for a change, for a badly needed transformation of our lives, towards freedom from all that since time immemorial has riddled mankind with pain, sorrow, sufferings, wars and tribulations. 

In each of these 114 beautiful poems, Grech has written what could be called preludes to the withdrawal from a monotonous social and political ennui. He is strong in his belief in the justice of God, fully acknowledges and respects nature, and is utterly hopeful that, in the end, justice will triumph over all the evil that somehow has always managed to have the upper hand.

Written in English, these poems are a delight to read, to go through, to meditate on; indeed, spiritual poetry at its best, an invitation to moments of deep soul-searching, so much needed in this chaotic world we are living in.