Madame Butterfly,
Sometimes we be-
come
that which hurt
Us, that one we abhor
All the more
Consumed
and eaten alive.
One can feel this,
as a matter of growth
inside
as cocoon cannot keep
safe
its contents.
From moth to monarch
Color comes to show
Consumption.
I have become many
Delicate versions
Of a creature
That becomes-
Part of
creation.
Canaries are placed inside
Coal mines
by us, to save us
from poison unseen.
Other-
Wise
I have chosen
To hover at the blazing
Hearth
making smoke rings
with ashen wings
while warm
blooded bodies
Take shelter
soaking in stillness.
I can
Still
fly away.
Painting by Edward Mason Eggleston (1882-1941), 'A Day in June' c. 1932 in Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
