Poet for hire

the dust of her

shallow breath

her inhale

and her final exhale

upon the swallowed leaf

of yesterday's memory

how i fled too quickly from the warm sun

and crept too slowly into the jaws

of the storm

and lingered too long in the mouth

of hands which never intended to

consume me

perhaps I've returned with

no words but these

and all I have is this lingering melody

and the wind swept dream of a butterfly

being born on the tip of my eyelashes

when I was just a baby

and took my first laugh

and god mistook it for thunder.

perhaps I am still learning how to say please

and thank you for leaving the door ajar

when I went missing, looking for

my own shadow

in the sand

but she kept shifting

and my eyes were parched for

her dark embrace

and I hear her shout in my dreams

she is the silhouette of

a hummingbird

not quite visible

yet she leaves a subtle mark

on the leaves

and kisses the rain goodbye

and has a story to tell

somewhere deep in her pockets

she keeps spilling over

she is thirsty for words she has

yet to speak

she can remember her name

but would rather forget

and be

only the laughing

sunflowers of august

and the rain gathered in puddles

for little girls to jump in

when they need to

break open

their reflection.

perhaps all I have to give you

is a butterfly

and even she,

one day

will