Inspired by my friend Jeanine who was going through trauma in her life at the time, I had written a poem several months ago and titled it “Beautiful Pain”. I eventually posted it to Facebook. Soon after posting it, my friend Stephen Niese, a male model, actor, and photographer, shared a captivating photo with me that he had taken of a butterfly resting on Coney Island Beach. I put our creations together and the poster below is the result.

What the poem means to me is that we cannot fully appreciate something without knowing the full story of it’s existence.