28 July 2008

I watch you struggle, fighting for your chance
There on the hot pavement outside
Walls of reflective glass that breathe
Only to watch you take your last.

They reflect all of your emerald
Beauty draining onto the heat-soaked
Stone. Filling up this bright-eyed,
Blue water morning with my mourning.

You flutter your wings, once. Twice,
As I imagine you did when you first
Emerged to stretch them, so full of promise,
On a similar sun-drenched day.

I gather you in my hands, smiling
A calm farewell of my understanding.
Goodbye, so long, we enjoyed you while
You lasted. You didn't have too far to fall.

Setting you in the cool shade next to
English lavender, your wings move one
Last time, filling my lungs and mind
With your last gasp of hope.

I have drawn stares, others watching this
Eccentric empathy for a dragonfly dipped in
Glass green and liquid gold. I explain it
Simply, "Everyone deserves to die with dignity."