Delicacies
I have a butterfly in my mouth I worry
for its wings they brush across my palate scrape
against my teeth scuff their tiny scales
onto my tongue
And
I want to suck them clean, to
taste their ultraviolet dust remember I
was six last time I pinched a wing with two fingers
and rubbed terrible
that off-kilter walk
I’m afraid even now
to hobble blue or ruin webbing. Even now
I crave the silky flakes that smudged my fingers
with muddled color they’ll taste
I think musky or moldy or
they’ll have the fishy kelpy
flavor of seawater Do I hold it
keep it safe
do I open and let it totter out do I press it
between tongue and roof
of mouth and swallow
I have a small mouth and a protective urge
sometimes
and sometimes
one gets stuck in the other
