divine lepidopterology to God the lepidopterologist i could ascribe 99 qualities or 99 to its power, but instead i get stuck marveling at the quality of His sight. you look upon me as i crawl across my life, scuttling and striding in alternations, desperate to keep my butterfly heart beating jauntily. so soon will your tweezers come and pinch and your needle thrust through me in one fell swoop until i am in twain: vessel and that being that was once your breath. i don’t need to beg you, handle me gently. i know that you are being so tender it would bring me to tears, that what feels like you rocking me from side to bitter side of my life is really the barest kiss. where does one begin in questioning the expert? all i can wonder is, how does my weeping seem to you? from your vantage, is it an attempt to waterboard, or a drop teetering, teetering on top of a penny?
a a khaliq is a poet and medical student from the midwest. she writes, in the tradition of kafka, to close her eyes.
Amethyst Review 