Flight
Release this and your lonesome heart will wake
The papery wings fluttered
Suspended
Then in a flicker of viridescence
Landed on my collar bone
Breathed open and closed in the Amazonian wind
The chocolate water churned below
Whispered reversals, a crushed cocoon
The neon body gleamed in the sun
Fragile frame clung tight, resolved
Proboscis unfurled against my skin
A bead of sweat taken in
Feathery pricks dusted my chest
Then in a murmured zephyr
Vanished
[Read “Impermanence“]
Rachel is a Program Specialist with Peace Corps Response. She particularly enjoys developing assignments in the gender and education sectors and is passionate about women and girls’ empowerment. She earned an MPhil in Gender and Development from the University of Bergen in Norway and holds a BA in Anthropology. She spends her time dancing, moon gazing, and mezcal tasting in the District of Columbia.