Damaged Goods

Damaged Goods In summer sun’s sagacious rays A butterfly with ragged wings Settled on the sidewalk In search of food or rest or other things Slow, strolling steps brought me to her side that day Her wings were slowly yawning to and fro I saw the ragged edges marred A predator had tried to take her life She got away but bore the scar Now she flies erratically, and slow But ah, her colors shimmered so! Blue purer than the air In the sun, sparkled like a million atom stars Yellow so shy it was hardly there Emerald splashed like strokes by Michelangelo They froze my gait And captured my eyes ‘til I was lost in a universe of delicate size and majestic fate I held my breath My throat grew tight I fell in love With the spirits’ fight To live beyond its brush with death Feelings tumbled from my breast If I could only paste a part of my soul On her wing to repair its ragged loss I gladly would, to make her whole Who more than measure, she had blest But hope and want rarely comply With harsh reality Or the step of time. Nor can beauty cure insanity Or heart enfold a butterfly So I stood entranced by her beauty there And caught the spirit of her bravery Though torn and damaged goods She was the loveliest butterfly I shall ever see Her injury made her only all the more fair She could not have known how much I cared We both were bound by destiny The moment passed as moments do And then she flew away from me Fluttering and stumbling through the air