The Ofi Press Magazine

Poem by Bernadette Mcaloon (UK)

Published in issue 39 of The Ofi Press

She flutters

in to land

folding her wings

behind her back.

He moves in slowly,

flips the net,

nips her thorax

in case she batters

herself to death.

He settles her

with ethyl acetate,

lays her out

on rags, covers her

with damp paper,

softens her up

over summer nights

in his airtight

relaxing chamber.

He tests her

with tiny forceps,

flicks her

clubbed antennae,

plies her

slender legs, checks

until her colours

are ready

to be spread.

Pinning her

smooth body,

he presses

her wings out flat,

holds them down

with fine strips,

dries her out,

tags her, mounts

her under glass.