Cutter's Word

(Anna von deBardeleben, September 21, 1947- June 23, 2001)

Soft smile shines from the yearbook photograph
I keep on my writing table,
an antique post office desk
she picked up on an exotic trip.
Her butterfly painting hangs beside me,
a blue butterfly with purple wings
lands on a white camellia bloom.
Off in the distance,
a pastel rainbow forms
as sunrays burst through the storm.
I smile as the memories flash
like fireflies in the summer night,
rising to the moon.