Lepidopterarium by Mark Folse

not to desire much except with the imagination
     — Fernando Pessoa The Book of Disquiet

You are not to be netted
and pinned to a cork board

wings are more beautiful
in flight; what is rare is best

captured by admiring eyes
not a collector’s grasping hands

you are anxious to be free
of the lepidopterarium

in which long faithful years
has captured you

intention telegraphed by
the way you open your wings

displaying the inner most 
details of your construction

patterns mapping the path
away from your cage

I know it's not allowed but
wish I could feel your flutter

under my hands, lifting you
into freedom's first flight

About the Poet:

Learn more about Mark Folse at https://wellbottomblues.com/