Butter - first post! :D

I caught a butterfly
In an old Mason jar
That used to contain the milk
Of New England jerseys.

She didn't say much to me,
Just flapped her wings to mock me, because I couldn't fly;
She didn't tell me anything about tasting from her feet.
I didn't expect her to.

She didn't try to escape;
I tried to feed it grass clippings, leaves;
It looked at me, bug eyes cocked to the side,
As if to say: this is not what I eat, you idiot.

One night I left the top open,
Which was pinpricked with saltshaker holes
So it could breathe.
She flew away like loose feathers from a pillow.

I found it outside the next day
Toppled over gently, wings outstretched, legs shriveled
Covered in frost.
The breeze made it appear to be shivering.

Our souls are soft yet searing like hot glass,
Our bones breakable yet rigid like stone,
Susceptible to harsh airs,
Fragile by the way the wind carries us.

I found myself yesterday,
Underneath my bed, by some old books,
Wide-eyed and hungry,
Alive, and bathed in sun.

I left my head cracked open last night
After I took an ax to my unconscious
To try and swat it away like a nuisance,
But instead, light poured and pooled into my skull.

I didn't try to stop it,
I had known too long and too well
That all dams we put up, internal or external,
Are crushed by the aching pressure of the waves.

I didn't speak much that day
Only smiled at strangers like a child unashamed of his curiosity,
Wishing we could all, for just one day,
Leave our masks grasping the coat racks in our rooms,
Leave our expectations swaying like ribbons from our rafters,
Leave our hopes hanging on by strands of spider silk
Entangled within the tangles of dream catchers.

I caught myself in a Mason jar
To show the world, to show me, that life is a sort of tangible thing;
You can catch yourself and read by your own light--
Metaphysical bioluminescence contained.

I had held onto myself tightly,
And like God's Eyes made at summer camp;
I became unraveled.
I had to let myself go--

Yayyyy first post! I like it Dan!

I love this! Beautifully written and thought provoking. Welcome!