The Moth Fairies Pay a Visit

Snuggled deep within the soft, lime-green rug of her moth, Luna begins to wake. Slowly she uncurls out of snail-shell form—gold limbs stretching thin—and yawns a dew bubble. Lids lift musically over black, bulbous eyes, her ultraviolet dreams dispersing on the breeze. Twilight descends, and Luna and her moth settle into a spot at the open window. Others arrive presently. Polyphemus, Cecropia, Sphinx, Imperial, Io—all alight on the peeling white frame. Inside, a poet stares deeply into a pool of candlelight; intent, perhaps, on finding just the right words for something. Please look up, dear poet. Look up and see us. Those that you loved as a child, that you befriended on moonlit nights and drew. Remember us. And tell of us. Butterflies get all the attention.

First published in Space & Time Magazine in 2022.