The sonnet sequence, "My Human Disguise," of 600 ekphrastic poems, was begun February 2011 and completed January 15, 2022. It can be found beginning with the January 20, 2022 post and working backwards. Going forward are 20 poems called "Terzata," beginning on January 27, 2022. Thirty more Terzata can be found among the links on the right. A new series of dramatic monologues follows on the blog roll, followed by a series of formal poems, each based on a single word.
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
The Moth (Balthus)
#152
A woman had a vision of a butterfly
Or was it a moth? Neither belonged in her mind,
Or so she thought. She reached out to touch it,
But the baby inside her begged her not to try.
It hovered near the oil lamp, then around behind
Her, teasing her. She'd turn left, right, but it would flit
To stay unseen, then fly overhead, fluttering
Just above her eyes, turning back toward the light,
Which responded to its fleet wings by guttering.
She took a thread from her towel and flung it right
Across its thorax, caught the other end and made
A knot -- dandled it on its leash. It flew until
She pulled too hard -- the moth began to fade
Until the world it left behind grew still.
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