Butterfly Trap
Eyes,
Unusual and startling,
Like pristine almonds,
No, Brazil nuts,
Gorgeous, round, and—
Ha! I caught them staring into my
Freckled green ones again.
We flicker away, unsure if that was a
Moment in which something happened.

I let my ditzy brown hair fall and
Hide my half-moon smile.
You didn’t see. (I send a silent thank-you to the
Universe for sparing me that shame.)

I ponder on what you’re pondering.
Is it me?
Doubtful, for I believe my imagination and
The cow jumped over the moon.

I know I shouldn’t continue looking.
I should be writing a poem for class,
But you stole all the words
While I was gazing into the stars (your stars),
And you didn’t even realize it.

So now all I have left to pencil down are basics,
Shameful basics,
I know I could do better,
But I can’t think (or breathe)
With you near.

So all that metaphor,
Where a crush could equal the
First star in the night,
All that imagery,
Where your heavenly gaze
Punctures my soul into cliché fragments,
All that sound,
Where your pen, the one that your hand is holding,
Is scratching onto paper the
Drumbeats of my heart (frantic and wild),
Has all flown away from my mind
And landed in your
Butterfly trap.