> the balloon and the butterfly
like a balloon whose air had been let out, i wobble in midair at the tender mercies of the screaming winds. my string caught amongst the dry branches of a withered tree, i dangle upside down and wonder when will it be before i fall? ... tho i'd rather not fall, for i might get lost or trampled on flat ... or get stuck on a stranger's crusty sole and dragged to nowhereland, no i'd rather not fall ... tho everything seems upsidedown. is it becoz im hanging upsidedown? or is the world upsidedown? or maybe it's just the tree that's upsidedown?
the twigs of the nest perched at the end of the dry branch falls softly, one twig for each day and the nest is growing bare ... the chirpingbirds have left and the cracked eggshells are rotting in the sun. a softwhite cocoon on the lower fourth branch wiggles and shifts, i think a butterfly is trapped within and cannot escape ... but i can do nothing to help the poor butterfly, as i am flapping in the wind ... i want to shout out; "be strong! be brave, my beautiful little butterfly!", but my air had been let out and im breathless, tied to a string, caught on a dry branch, borne of a withered tree; once young and majestic, now browned and naked to the elements.
a single leaf at the end of the branch says: "since when is the butterfly your butterfly? and how can you be sure that it truly is a butterfly fluttering within?"
"browned leaf, lonely leaf ... let not your bitterness and loneliness blind you to the beauty within. can you not see the sun shining thru the cocoon? can you not see the shadow of beauty trapped within?"; thinks i ... but my air had been let out and i can say nothing to the single leaf at the end of the branch of the withered tree.
the leaf says nothing more and i think nothing more. and the wind whispers a secret so soft it tingles my redrubberskin and i hear a song; a song carried by the winds from within the cocoon to me and i sway lightly to it, i smile a balloonsmile and let the winds bring me peace, as i hang from the string that's caught in the dry branch, borne of a withered tree, rooted to mother earth ...
the twigs of the nest perched at the end of the dry branch falls softly, one twig for each day and the nest is growing bare ... the chirpingbirds have left and the cracked eggshells are rotting in the sun. a softwhite cocoon on the lower fourth branch wiggles and shifts, i think a butterfly is trapped within and cannot escape ... but i can do nothing to help the poor butterfly, as i am flapping in the wind ... i want to shout out; "be strong! be brave, my beautiful little butterfly!", but my air had been let out and im breathless, tied to a string, caught on a dry branch, borne of a withered tree; once young and majestic, now browned and naked to the elements.
a single leaf at the end of the branch says: "since when is the butterfly your butterfly? and how can you be sure that it truly is a butterfly fluttering within?"
"browned leaf, lonely leaf ... let not your bitterness and loneliness blind you to the beauty within. can you not see the sun shining thru the cocoon? can you not see the shadow of beauty trapped within?"; thinks i ... but my air had been let out and i can say nothing to the single leaf at the end of the branch of the withered tree.
the leaf says nothing more and i think nothing more. and the wind whispers a secret so soft it tingles my redrubberskin and i hear a song; a song carried by the winds from within the cocoon to me and i sway lightly to it, i smile a balloonsmile and let the winds bring me peace, as i hang from the string that's caught in the dry branch, borne of a withered tree, rooted to mother earth ...
