Alaska is Cheryl Martin’s debut collection of poetry. It was longlisted for the Polari prize in 2015.
Butterflies
Everyone says how pretty butterflies are.
But have you seen the buggers
when they come out of the chrysalis,
encrusted with mucus,
eyes glued shut to the light,
wings plastered to their sides,
practically puking as they struggle to breathe?
Takes a lot of balls to break out of the cocoon
when you’re half-done,
all potential and no proof,
nearly crazy with the beauty of a blue sun.
You have to.
