i.
bald patches on wings
show where butterflies have shed
the bloom of their youth
ii.
late Spring stars, pastel
green & cream, teeter over
a red passion point
iii.
the sunrise place shows
the price to be received, or
the price to be paid
iv.
fish for dinner means
the dull knife scrapes the wrong way,
scales fly everywhere
v.
the indigo just
shed its skin, gleaming black-blue,
(dry, soft, tasting musk)
vi.
hairspray mists around
teased hair stripped roughly downward
for the school’s Spring play
vii.
dark surrounds the flame
of one lit candle, carried
by a voice singing,
its melody bent modal,
as it winds from old to new
