Inspired by a friend’s Facebook post, which reminded me of these moments.
Image from WikiMedia by Alberto Salguero.
***
Butterfly Smile
Wearing butterfly wings that rose over my head
and stretched past my shoulder
painted in black and red and gold
a bright bold fairy at Scarborough Fair
I was walking when a man called out
“Smile!”
when I turned to face him, silent
“Come on, smile!”
when I walked away
to my back, shielded only by gauze wrapped wire
and rapidly dissolving joy
he shouted about ‘fairy extermination’
and laughed
Later, I felt a tap on my shoulder
and turned to find two fairies
both winged in greens and browns
carrying wings larger than mine
with leaves and flowers in their hair.
One blew her pipes, a rising note
question
the other held out his hand
with a star-shaped bead gleaming blue in his palm
and when he dropped the star into mine
he smiled
and I smiled, too.
I love the title of this poem!
Thanks. 🙂