BUTTERFLIES
I was like a bear cub then,
not long out of the den
and they were shining butterflies
bright coloured dancing things.
They drew me on, led by my nose,
towards the scent of honey;
I shambled in, they fluttered up,
magic kaleidoscope.
They flew around my head and paws,
one gently brushed my nose
but when I tried to touch them
they slipped out of my reach.
Such graceful, fluid, shifting forms
I could not understand.
A swirling, dancing cloud of light
and I was dancing too,
a clumsy grinning clown inside
a brightly coloured dream.
A shift of cloud, the sun went in
I stood there all alone.
Just a lonely bear cub
who'd danced with butterflies.