Monarchs

 

                                                                                                     Laura Stickney

Monarchs winter

                       In old doors of trees

                                                 Winds make portals creak

And butterfilies use airwaves like leaves

But their streets are not one way

                            Wings snapped shut

                            And they are ecru

                            Hidden in Eucalyptus

                                                       Wings ajar and they are winks aflame

                                                      'wake in Janus light

Monarchs navigate routes

Grander than Prince Henry's

                                                     Beyond a splintery grove are dunes, sea

                                                     And astrolabe memory

Laura Stickney