Summer Butterflies

I.

1.

We flitted around

        Swirling and diving

Dancing in the air

        Like Summer butterflies

Our wings were bright

        Colorful canvas carrying us

We flew and fell

        But never touched

I wanted to tell you how I felt

        How you made me feel

                (yes you made me feel)

        But the more I wrote

                And the more I spoke

        The less I said

I got lost in  the forest of the words

        When I found my way out

You were gone

        (And my wings had fallen off).

2.

I looked for you

        But

                Not right away

Whatever we had

Whatever we were

Became like bleached butterflies

Turned into moths

The ghost of love

Floating face down in a puddle of poison

And I floated too

Sometimes I sank

Sometimes I swam

And I usually missed you.

II.

Sometimes I went back to the forest

        It was quiet there

                And I knew you never much liked it

I planted more trees

        Spoke seeds into being

                Wrote leaves

And I started to see

        Why you hated those trees

                (It's because they block the view)

And I started to think

And I left again

I cut down a few trees

        On my way.

III.

1.

I thought you were gone

        Because you told me you were leaving

                (This is what I thought)

But I saw in the sunlight

        A flicker of flapping

                I knew those wings

I fumbled and flexed

        I hadn't even noticed my wings had grown back

But I flew anyway

2.

        And the two of us fluttered

Like blown leaves in summer

        Whishing whispers like wings

Twisting and turning

        Like stunt panes

                (or dogfighters)

We spun in the sky

        Then I landed

And walked

And inspected my wings

        For wear

                (or battle damage)

And I didn't plant many trees.

3.

Last night, we fought

        In my dreams

But the fighting was like dancing

        Or it might have been

                (I can't remember)

But when I woke up

        I felt like I'd danced

But I'd known that we'd fought.