THE MUSIC OF BUTTERFLY WINGS

The Music of Butterfly Wings is a personal project co-edited with Alison Morley, celebrating my son Louis Ottavio’s journey with deafness, exploring his unique world of silence, vibrations, and colors.

Wings' Beats Collide in a Suspended Time

Wings' beats collide in a suspended time
I run to catch that abstract trail that flies away
My skin pulses, it ignites, it tingles
My feet radiate warmth, sandy and hot ground
I run towards my ship, my favorite trunk
Towards the sea, waves crash into the sky
I remain still
I observe
Eyes dilated, dry mouth, a sharp scent enters and stays
I listen attentively to the light air
Wings' beats applaud in a suspended time
I touch, the palm on the resin, it sticks, it glues,
the blinding white crowns surround me
everything is light
sonorous light, it sings,
I sing, I, invisible notes,
wings' beats like a storm in a suspended time
the night, black and dense, I walk
lightly, slowly, elevated roots,
I jump,
screeching wings' beats in a suspended time

The Music of Butterfly Wings is a deeply personal project co-edited with Alison Morley, exploring the sensory journey of my son, Louis Ottavio, who was born deaf. Through the lens of his unique experience, the book unveils a world where sound transcends the ears, where energy itself becomes the rhythm of life.

Now with a cochlear implant, Louis continues to discover the many layers of sound, but he sometimes prefers to listen without it, embracing the silent music that only he can truly understand. The Music of Butterfly Wings is a celebration of his sensory journey, a story of adaptation, discovery, and the boundless potential of the human spirit to connect with the world in ways that defy convention.

It is a poetic exploration of what it means to hear, to feel, and to truly listen. Louis has developed an extraordinary way of "hearing" the world around him—through his skin, through the vibrations that echo in his body, and through the colors of voices that paint his reality.