By Elijah Trew
Once the butterfly kissed my cheek, all my young sorrow moulted away like spilt pulp, over chapel entrée.
I noticed how she fluttered in hospital rooms. Through pimento flowers and grapefruit trees, she walked over dialysis tightropes as embers felt the winter breeze. It whispered out my cherub tomb. Clotted colours rustled in leaves, so a cracked bottle mind, cut short the leash. It showed me a cold boy’s, fading glow. Burnt, short as lightning a page half way to peace. Nurse washed; the butterfly kissed the filth away. Preparing for the silent day, a bitter life halfway to sweet. Gentle in despair, barbed in the bleak.
Dear butterfly, can you hear me? Dear butterfly, please if you’re real, please, I don’t want to die, please butterfly please, I’ll do anything, I didn’t mean it, please don’t let me die.
She skated towards me, tracing hot salt lines, heaven-sent angel feather-shed, with royal wings of Guarani eyes. The butterfly floated over corpse needle prayers, sat gazing through windows, a pill too many squared. An unhealthy sun, beamed through, splintering the light of her precious veins, lips tweaked, panning for painted shiny pain. Heart and home weeping till banshee blood filled Glasgow as red as naked blame. Breaths spun webs between choked sawdust lungs so she hopped from head to hand and for precious life, clung on.
With me, amongst the drip, with me, amongst the bile, with me, amongst the end.
Dear butterfly, can you hear me? Dear butterfly, please if you’re real, please, I don’t want to die, please butterfly please, I’ll do anything, I didn’t mean it, please don’t let me die.
Earthquake evenings over, she flew down shut my lives, held my hand and brought the sky.
Before moving to Irealand at the age of 8 Elijah Trew was raised by his parents in Asunción, Paraguay. Growing up in a multilingual environment, both writing and speaking Spanish and English fluently consolidated a passion for language, prose and poetry. You can read his work in SCUMZINE Issue1 and you can follow him on Instagram @elijahtrew.art
