Today’s poem for Paul Brookes’ challenge is inspired by Snipe by John Law and Wishes by Kerfe Roig.

Swift and sweet-sharp

There are butterflies,
soft as rose petals, bright as dawn,
and birdwings swift and scissor-sharp,
shrilling-tongued to fill the sky.

Beak, wings, the long, uncoiled
proboscis spring that delves deep
into sweet flowered tubes,
all tasting life sharp and sweet,

but there is always death
that comes, swift and sharp
as the cracking of eggshells,
the tearing of birth sacks.

Life runs in rivers, tides,
and flutters ephemeral as butterfly wings
in a white blizzard of poplar seeds.