Watching

06.98

I watch as the stone apparent heaves
spotlit by moonsilver giving way to dawn
the weight of my gaze seems to crack the shell 
I watch as the life within emerges
tentative wingtip by wingtip
lending my wistful breath 
to her reaching, searching, striving 
for promised freedom
I watch as the earliest ultra-violet rays 
lend their invisible luminescence 
to the drying wings



The great pale green arms of beauty 
I watch as the moth ascends 
the tension of our hopes, 
hers unrealized and mine lost
stirring brightly, bearing her aloft.
I watch as her furred body leaps glowing
into the dawn
my soul soars on her wings, shares her glory 
and she is gone. 
Her abandoned shell and I watch alone



© 1998, Selena