We recently had the pleasure of discussing “Abandoned House” with poet Tricia Knoll, learning about her inspiration and message behind her work.

Tricia shared a fascinating detail about the setting of her poem: an empty, untended house in Vermont. Its front lawn was “full of milkweed.” She recounted, “When fall came, I parked my car and collected all the milkweed seed I could to distribute to grown milkweed for monarch on my four acres of land.” She acknowledged, “I felt a bit like I was trespassing, but that didn’t matter.” For her, it was about “the seed and great, great fun of releasing milkweed seed to the wind.” She also noted, “I follow the work on the folks who track monarch migrations.”

When asked about the poem’s tone and voice, Tricia described it as “Hopeful.” She explained her reasoning by stating, “Any seed planted gets planted in hope, doesn’t it?”

The poem reflects a personal belief for Tricia. She emphasized, “I need to do what I can in these days of climate chaos to help the beautiful monarch butterflies. They are not terribly prolific in Vermont but they do make it up here.”

Tricia particularly wants readers to take away a simple yet empowering message: “It’s easy to try to do the best you can for butterflies.”

Her personal favorite line or image from the poem is quite specific: “There was something sort of daunting about marching across someone else’s property, but that didn’t matter, really. Weeds grew through the driveway …even milkweed.”

You can find more of Tricia Knoll’s insightful work and follow her poetic journey on her website: triciaknoll.com

Read Knolls Poem in Butterflies Anthology Available on Amazon