The cerulean butterfly
Has escaped
From a fallen hemline
Frayed and threadbare
The lies that clothed me
Now fall from my body
I drink in these elixirs of promise
Magic potions made of earth
To make me whole again
My elbows are bruised
From propping myself up
To see over the mountain
Of that one big, fantastical lie
Back then I swallowed that deception
Like a pill to cure the condition
Of being human
Like water fed
To thirsting lips
But none of it was pure
The caged butterfly would escape
But instead of from a fallen hemline
From a coat that no longer fits
That one came
From my throat
Coaxed out by swollen fingers
A beautiful, winged glory
Stained with self-loathing
But that was then
Now I drink these elixirs
Now I eat from the plate
Of Mother Nature
Leaves that grow in soil
Herbs that drink in sun
And I contort myself
To complicated postures
Gestures
Of hopefulness
Of tentativeness
Of asking
Can this really work?
Until once-snug fabric
Tents around my body
The body I once hid within
Imprisoned by shame
Now I mix powders
Made of flowers
Like an alchemist
An herbalist
A witch
To soothe away my fears
Of never being small enough
To nourish a body
That's good enough
To live within
Not hide within
I transform myself
The right way
And today
The cerulean butterfly escaped
I'll never see it again
Once I would have mourned its absence
Like the lonely child I was
But now I'm glad to see it go
Freed now
From its deceptive beauty
Its hurtful manipulations
Freed
From a beautiful butterfly
Who always told me
I wouldn't be good enough
Or thin enough
Or pretty enough
Until I had xylophone ribs
Until I was walking bones
Freed
From a winged death
Posing as beauty
As a promise
As a ravishing girl
With the perfect body
As the impossible lie
Impossible only because
The butterfly made it impossible
About the Creator
A. R. Ambrosi
I like to write, if that makes me a writer, then rock on!
I started writing as a child because I ran out of stuff to read. So, I only write stuff that I like. If you like it too, awesome! Enjoy! ^_^
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