The way you smile
is how the candlelight
may briefly blaze a grey-
winged moth into
a fiery butterfly;
this brilliant moment is
how my breath and
my heartbeats
are kindled, burning
but as you turn
and leave me as
a fly, incarcerated ash
Today Laura hosts at dVerse and she asks us to write Ekphratic from the title of a selection of paintings. I wrote this without looking at the picture first and I think it almost worked.
March 23, 2021
Björn Rudbergs writings 
Oh my gosh, Bjorn. This is amazing! Anyone who has been around a “bug zapper” or a campfire when a but is caught in the heat and there is a sudden and very quick brief flare-up, sometimes accompanied by a sizzle, can experience this poem! And in the second stanza, it is that brief and fleeting flare-up of love or lust or passion, so quickly gone upon desertion. Love turned to incinerated ash.
I really really like this one!
Oh I think it works quite well. I can see the “fly burnt ash” in that painting 😁
yes it worked – I love the moth/butterfly contrast and the mirroring of ash/grey – and besides that verse 1 is pure love poetry
I like how you capture charismatic juju that thrills and then destroys. Your poem clicks well with the image also.
Works? This poem hits the ball out of the park, Bjorn! 💝 From the opening image to the last, you describe perfectly the sizzling chemistry that’s experienced upon first contact and then later disintegrated. Bravo! 😀
That first stanza — wow! o_o
A “fiery butterfly” turned into “a fly, incarcerated ash” — strong imagery to match the strong notes of passion and pain, expansion and diminishment. Beautifully crafted.
ooh, the burn and the burning. Nice smoldering Ekphrastic poem.
from hot romance to fried in a few brief lines … scorching!
I never thought of seeing that fly, incarcerated ash. The fiery butterfly description was a good one to capture the colors of the photo. Great that the words complemented the photo Bjorn.
Bjorn, your love poems are breathtaking … Sighing in Bend Oregon.
i spent five years in commercil kitchens the bug zapper was above my head in one of them, you took me right back some 30 years
I see everything you speak of in that picture now! I’ve such compassion for the fly with it’s guts splattered in such way! 💝💝
I was tempted by that title, Björn, which has so many possibilities, and I love where the wings flew you! From grey-winged moth to fiery butterfly and fly and incarcerated ash, you’ve captured fleeting moments vividly and beautifully. Your poem deserves a gasp! Ah!
I think it worked perfectly! A delicate whisper of a love poem.
Ecstasy to agony in a flash! Wow!
Wow, that hurts.
Great verses. Love the ending of being left incinerated in the ashes.
The image in that first stanza is so striking. It’s burnt into my imagination.
Love it Bjorn! It tallies with the painting after viewing it most definitely. It goes to show that an accomplished poet can readily catch the intention of the prompt on the first instance even before writing the poem.!
Hank