Mariposa

mariposa it hovered above my head – a black mariposa the size of my palms put side by side. i saw it alone. (my brothers and sisters were already asleep – worn out by grieving over mother’s death.) afraid of its poison dust, i shut my eyes. but even in the dark it lingered. so close, so vivid. the mariposa – flapping its wide wide wings as gentle as mother’s caress.