Yellow butterfly
splayed out on red dirt road so
still we thought it dead
and sought to take it to our
home to put under a dome
Instead when a shaft
of green barley slid under
its tiny form it
caused it to flutter its legs
in a motion that made us
All feel sad at once
so we thought to move it out
of further harm's way
and turned the stem so it could
grasp its little feet with what
Life was remaining
in it and we moved it to
a roadside tangle
of purple vetch and daisy
and wild mustard whose petals
Were a paler shade
of yellow than its perfect
wings which were almost
coloured like tansy ragwort
And there we left its small self
For night to fall the
way it does on roadside plants
and lowing cattle
and shore birds feeding seaside
and still, unnamed butterflies.
Be well,
Jill
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