One Hundred Butterflies

One Hundred Butterflies by Peter Levitt. Broken Moon Press, 1992, 108 pages, paperback, 4 by 5 inches. $10.95 at bookstores. Out of the Zen tradition flutters Peter Levitt with this surprising and refreshing collection of short poetry. It includes haiku, an occasional aphorism, tanka, and a few slightly longer poems, although none of the forms are identified. But they are light and feathery, like butterflies—yet resonant, like cocoons left to wither in the notch of a poplar. The two shortest selections from this breezy but fulfilling book:

within each petal

the sound of rain

Silent as a thief

autumn mist