Monarch

for Homero Gómez González,

butterfly activist murdered by

loggers in Ocampo, Mexico

The well's shaft is

Trajectory of holy pāpalōmeh inverted

The well's shaft is

Ghost of sacred pine tree extracted

I watch monarch wings,

Slips of flame

Flutter above

Well's rim

Well's shaft 

Is where I drown,

Well's shaft 

Is where I rise

As I was thrown into shadowed depths,

My cloak of many colors lifted me

Laura Stickney 2021

Notes:

photo of Homero Gómez González,

WWF

pāpalōmeh is Nahuatl for monarch butterflies