By: Christiane Demack

Butterfly!
You came back!
All my life
I’d felt your bright blue wings
Beating against the inside of
My rib cage, fanning the fire,
Inside;
Gifting me visions of flowers and honey,
Dreaming mimosas and hyacinths,
Into existence; lingering by fountains
Of joy in the silver light of birdsong –

I didn’t know you could fly away.
But fly away you did.

I’ve been a grey moth,
Flying into flame after malicious flame,
The hearth inside barren with cold
Ashes, the spark fled deep underground
Hibernating, safe from storm waves
A moth’s wings could never ride.

Butterfly!
You came back!
Snowdrops forcing their petals
Through frost, weeds clawing
Their way skywards through city
Cobblestones,
You’re hungry for the light of day.

Butterfly!
I can feel your wings beating
My heart into a thousand gardens!