B                                      S
     U                              E
        T                       I
           T               L
               E      F
                  R

fucking
are filling
the garden in pairs:
aerialist swallowtails
(females are yellow or brown)
and spotted gulf fritillaries, wings enfolded,
together, as if in prayer, are swooping through air,
flying—which is a metaphor for fucking
in human dreams—
for them,
for butterflies,
is dance.

© Maryanne Stahl 2005

Maryanne Stahl (moondoxy@comcast.net) writer and folk artist, lives in Thunderbolt, Georgia. She has published two novels, The Opposite Shore and Forgive The Moon, for which she received a nomination for the Georgia Author of the Year Award. Her children's story, Where Do Cats Go, won the Spirit of Moondance Award at the 2004 Moondance Film Festival. To read more of her work, visit her website: www.maryannestahl.com

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