how to

let’s say a butterfly
strokes your palm with its dusty feet, ok?

it can feel good, see?
  (yes
        the lacks are easier to write
the ache to clench
to keep            )           keep still

he holds your skull
you lick his teeth

butterflies don’t like closed hands,
get it?

Aleda Bliss is a writer, actress and graduate of the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Her work has previously appeared in Chronogram. She lives in Brooklyn.