Verve 2022 | Page 15

Salty tears filling his eyes Blinking in the moonlight Walking a line he fell off long ago This is his reality .
A flash of azure tumbles into sight It pierces through his hazy vision And settles on his hand ,
A butterfly . Fragile wings almost translucent in the hollow moonlight Its body blacker than ink .
The boy had never really seen a butterfly And certainly not this close up But observing the butterfly he felt calm , Peaceful .
His tears began to dry as he watched this butterfly dance around the moon in the starlight . For the first time in his life he felt like he wasn ’ t alone .
Hours sped by like minutes He found himself talking to the butterfly And his body began to feel lighter Until all his troubles faded , like ink when consumed by water .
The butterfly sensed the boy ' s happiness And at last content It twirled into the night And left the boy on the roof .

Butterfly Boy Hettie Brayne

He sat there for a few minutes He should have felt empty But instead he felt warm inside So warm he felt ready to go back . He glanced once more at the pale moonlight and went inside .