The first time I tripped,
It was over the shoe laces
of a boy with hazel eyes
and Venus fly trap lashes.
When he laughed,
I saw a thousand butterflies
leave his mouth
like a confetti explosion.
Captivated by this winged downpour,
I sought to release every single butterfly
from the cages of his ribs;
Until they filled the spaces of grey planes,
which followed every cynic’s footsteps,
and pollinated every flower
of a dying breed.
My world became a kaleidoscope
of time and colour
where I could no longer distinguish
sunrise from sunset.
Careless of the clock’s limit,
I took its hand and spun circles
within the butterfly boy’s garden
foolishly forgetting
that neither butterfly nor boy
were creatures for all seasons.
So when the first red drop of tomorrow
fell from a tree,
The swarm of colours flew south
taking with it, my kaleidoscope lenses
and the boy;
Still, with his shoe laces undone
and his insides
a nest of larvae.
He never came back and I never found out who gave him the butterflies in the first place. - E.D