The Catcher and the Butterfly

i caught a butterfly in the meadows
and released it
in a cage
a cage with gaps between bars so large
that whence it wished
the butterfly could escape

So, rapt and ready
I plumped myself on a seat
to see when the sweet butterfly
would skitter away
For that was given, that escape it should
Why not, after all
the butterfly’s short life
was but a couple days

Hours piled on hours
but the butterfly remained inside
it laid no eggs
and made no attempt to break away
it seemed content in its dainty jail
it darted and danced
each flit of its illustrious wings
setting my now drowsy eyes ablaze

For my own countenance
i couldn’t say the same
the butterfly’s errant behaviour had quite simply
left me dazed
restlessness took me like a plague
so affixed to my chair i sat
looking at the cage
without any pause
without any break

Had you observed us
trust you in me
when i say
that you would have had troubling saying
which one of us was the prisoner
and which one was outside the jail

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