The Moth

Text:

© Grathy
There is a flicker
In the bathroom.
Is it the lightbulb,
The staccato blink
Of its last filament?

No, it is the futile flap of lost moth
Trying to find its way outdoors,
As it bangs into the sealed glass
Too high for me to reach,
And flickers feebly around the light,
Until it finally settles onto the wall,
Hoping I won’t notice him.

He tries to hide his dark body
Behind the mirror
But the white walls
Point to the small dark triangle
Trying to hide,
Hoping to survive another day.

I shut the lights
To give him room
To live another day,
Hoping he can find his way
To a better place.