Junicho : First Butterfly

bread bag
emptied for the cygnets—
blackberries

dark stains
trodden in the carpet

surrounded by land
so alien
she starts to weep

among the bric-a-brac
his mum's old cruet

all night
a barrage of leaves
against the pane

this drift of clouds
across this moon

so proud
of that clay elephant
he made in hospital

hands cold from touching snow
without our gloves

they send in
a male stripper
for her birthday bash

stalagmites and stalactites
glow inside the cave

petal by petal
softly from bough
to ground

the toddler points to it,
first butterfly

A solo renku by Diana Webb (UK)
Composed 21 August 2007