Her Beautiful Butterfly

She closed her hand over it Tightly, oh, so tightly Wanting to keep it THIS TIME She wouldn't let it fly away As the others had done before She felt the beating of butterfly wings Against the inside of her palm She giggled Taking a quick peek Between her prison fingers To see again The beauty Of the Monarch butterfly How she longed to keep it…forever To look at its beauty Whenever she was sad Which happened to be Quite often... Maybe because she wanted to fly away And could not That she wanted the company Of that beautiful flitting thing The frantic movement was getting less She sat down on a rock And took another peek He was still there Trying to get out He almost squeezed through But she closed him in again Another butterfly Danced about her face Almost alighting on her knee With her sudden motion of glee It then flew to a waiting flower Pausing in the sunlight To show off its brilliant colors Then it took flight Pretty and light Like her dreams at night For the first time A little pain came to her chest As a truth began to dawn Her little captive was meant to fly To be free She mustn't keep it long As a childish tear or two Gathered in the corners Of her pretty brown eyes Lingering on her dark lashes She slowly opened her hands Only to see Butterfly colored fingers Moist and wet Where a butterfly lay dead In the cradle of her palm Eileen Manassian Ghali