Ephemeral
He’s dressed like a big-game hunter,
but he’s looking for butterflies;
finding them too - a flutter of small blue
copulating among the clover.
Angling his shot and adjusting his lens,
he captures the moment.
Later he’ll transform the photographs
into paintings - gentle watercolours,
pale as his blue eyes. Yet, until we spoke,
I’d not realized he was so old - frail
as a brown fritillary - trembling,
struggling to hold the camera steady.
He says he comes here often: the habitat’s
second to none. I know - I live here.
Drawing the curtains that night,
I startle a painted lady at rest in the folds.
Later, half-slipping into sleep, I sense
the safety and warmth of her refuge;
remember a childhood game of ghosts
and the sanctuary under the covers;
picture a boy with a butterfly net
scaling the cliffs in search of a dream.
Page(s) 5
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