An Average Life
The admiral butterfly
a map of happiness
on the burnished green
of the ivy in May
its glamour
its poise
its place in the sun
imagine you had it
bright as a bracelet
fine as a feather
strong as a storm
imagine you were it
and you practised your movements
studied your speeches
turned up in good time –
and your part has been cancelled
the play goes ahead
with you as a servant
in black in the background
required to smile.
Christina Egan © 2010
And all my youth I have been old
Amidst the wealth of my existence
I suffer hunger dark and cold
I am invisibly imprisoned
and all my youth I have been old
On narrow shoulders I must carry
my illness like an awkward cross
I am inexorably burdened
by frailty and its offspring loss
Christina Egan © 2010