[removed]
Red Admiral
She has folded the best
of her colour, and shows
me only the dabbed
camouflage of her underwing –
And she drinks and drinks
through her long dark straw
a thin draught
from purple flowers
bounced by the brief wind.
She is alone
in a gathering of tortoiseshells,
like some grand old dame
deaf among her children's children –
And there is something
about her, world-weary,
a little wise – But
when she opens her wings
she colours in
a picture of the velvet south –
bright traveller suddenly
juggling red and black –
settling and unsettling nervily –
And never quite happy
enough to stay.