Fascination with Light

Desire glides in on calico wings,
a breath of a moth
seeking a companionable light,

where it hovers, unsure,   
sullen, shy or demure,
in the margins of night,

a soft blur.

With a frantic dry rattle
of alien wings,
it rises and thrums one long breathless staccato

then flutters and drifts on in dark aimless flight.

And yet it returns
to the flame, its delight,
as long as it burns.

Published by New Lyre and The Chained Muse; translated into Chinese by Chen Bolai; set to music by David Hamilton and performed by the Jade String Quartet.