A Gay Love Story Parable
The Flower and the Fly
During June 2025 Gay Pride Month, this parable is dedicated to Matthew Shepard (RIP) 1976–1998.
What would society say if a fly fell in love with a flower? What would the government say? What would the church say? What would parents say? What would family say? What would friends say? What would neighbors say? What would the world say?
The flower had waited for what seemed like an eternity. It had waited through leaves turning colors and dropping off trees one by one. It endured cold winds and snow and dark days. Then one sunny day it felt itself, as a bud, coming alive again.
It remembered that this had been happening over and over again many times as its home bush had been planted long ago in the garden with other Peonys, other flowers, a tree or two, and delicious vegetables of all sorts.
It remembered itself as a young, tightly held, bud going through puberty and slowly developing into a beautiful vibrant adult pink flower. It remembered the ants crawling here and there, not hurting, just crawling, disturbing the bud’s liquid-like protective covering, thereby allowing it to open.
Slowly the Pink Peony unfolded, unfurled, flag-like, one petal. Then another petal. Than another. Until it was a full-fledged, beautiful flower, that once again could turn its head towards the sun and bask in its warmth.
It could feel its own beautiful scent drift away and through the garden. It could see its own beauty reflected in the rain puddles left on the ground around its bushy green plant. It could hear the compliments of the garden stewards commenting on its beauty, its scent, and its ants. It was grateful for the role the ants played in allowing it to come to full life.
Then one sunny, summer day, a Kiss Fly arrived. And the flower’s life was changed forever.
The fly arrived unexpectedly and was attracted to the flower at first sight. It flew around and around the flower and eventually landed lightly on a petal. It could smell the flower’s essence, it could see the flower’s beauty, and it could feel some of the flower’s bodily fluids on its feet. It was enraptured, enamored, and finally, it realized that it had fallen in love with this flower … no questions asked.
And the flower, in turn, was amazed and amused at this buzzing, wings-flapping creature's interest in it. Around and around it felt the fly buzz and then, the flower shivered as the fly lightly landed on a petal of it. It was intrigued at the attention of the fly, and then enraptured, and then enamored, and finally, it realized that it had fallen in love with the fly … no questions asked.
The fly’s head is large, higher than long, and yellowish-brown to blackish-brown with its two large compound eyes at the side of the head and three small simple eyes (ocelli) in a triangle at the top of the head. The fly’s head looked nothing like the flower’s and vice versa.
The fly’s reddish-brown eyes does not meet at the top of the head yet the fly could easily see the flower for all it was. There are no bristles on the front of the head, the upper face, corresponding to the forehead, is black and shiny with silvery-white hairs, yet it could see into the flower’s soul, its hopes and desires. It could see into their destiny together
The fly’s collection of protruding mouthparts (proboscis) is reddish-brown and large. This is the feature that gives the family Platystomatidae, meaning “big mouth”, its common name, Kiss Fly. But it was careful to not bite not one flower petal for fear of causing the flower distress or pain.
The legs are mostly black. On the middle legs, there is a row of black spines on the underside of the fourth segment (tibia). The last part of the leg, corresponding to the foot (tarsus) has five segments. On all legs, the tarsi have yellowish areas and have short black spines on the underside. This enabled the fly to maintain purchase while on the flower. The fly was careful as it walked around, and explored, taking in all of the flower as closely as it dared.
The flower, in turn, was aware of the fly’s investigations as well as its tender way of doing so. The flower could tell that it was in no danger from this stranger, this creature different from its flower-ness and the flower knew it was in no danger of losing its flower-hood.
Eventually, the fly flew away and night settled over the garden and over the flower and over its sustaining green-leafed bush. The flower held on to the feeling of joy and contentment in what it had experienced with the fly and the fly held on to its memories as well. Both the flower and the fly, deep inside somewhere, wished that they could return to each other at the arrival of the next raising of the sun.
This went on for days. Each day the fly returning and gently visiting with the flower. The flower receiving the fly and enjoying its touch. Both visiting with each other in unqualified, loving ways.
Without needing any words, they developed a loving respectful relationship. There was a mutual understanding, and mostly a healthy respect for each other. In cknowledging the differences that defined who they each were their love grew stronger and stronger.
They were able to continue the joy, the friendship, the love; for only a short time.
One day, the flower realized that the Kiss Fly had not visited. She knew in her petaled heart that the Kiss Fly had gone on to its next adventure but on the other side of life. The flower knew it had several weeks more and then it would go on its way, as well, to its next adventure.
But this was OK for both of them. For they had experienced friendship, companionship, and love and that was enough to keep the flower, and the fly, for a lifetime and most likely for the next. They were fulfilled, they were contented, they were happy, even as they grieved the loss of each other.
I wonder what would society say if a Fly fell in love with a Flower. I wonder what would the government say. I wonder what would the church say. I wonder what would parents say. I wonder what family would say. I wonder what friends would say. I wonder what relatives would say. I wonder what would neighbors say. I wonder what would the world say.
And mostly, I wonder WHY any of them would be anything other than supportive and loving and happy that the flower had found someone to love, and that the fly had found someone to love. For life is all about sharing love, if only for their brief existence, until the next fall of leaves and the next flurry of snow.
Currently, the expression about gay love is: “Love is love!” And how could that be bad, how could that be wrong, how could that be a sin, how could that be denied to any beautiful Pink Peony and Kiss Fly who adore each other?
And yet, this story isn’t over, is it? It may be settled in your mind, and thank you so very much for that. However, for many who make up the government, the church, parents, relatives, family, friends, neighbors, and the world; there is much to be learned, understood, accepted, and supported about the LGBTQIA+ Community. By fellow human-kind.
“Matthew Wayne Shepard was an American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on October 6, 1998. He was transported by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries sustained during the attack. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with first-degree murder following Shepard’s death.”
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