The Painter

Butterfly, Captured

Working largely from photographs,

she captures what she wants to keep,

waves that swell but never crash,

man and dog that never sleep.

Preserved like leaves pressed in a book,

a cherished cat that will never die,

naked trees by a frozen brook,

daffodils forever bright.

Her hunting trophies hang on walls.

On her easel, an infant smiles

but never cries or learns to crawl.

He'll be a comfort for a while.

-- Angela Micheli Otwell, 2010