Plasticine Arms and Butterfly Wings

Feb15

Made of wire
covered by plasticine
she moves through the world
with awkward grace.

For decades, inside the sturdy sculpture
sits the child; head down, hands wrapped around her knees
she begins to awaken.

The scar tissue that solidly formed
and held her in place
weakens and gives way.

Lifting her head
she unfurls her arms from her knees
and sees that translucent butterfly wings
have taken the place of limbs
that atrophied long ago.

On wobbly legs, the child stands
and breaks all but one of the sinewy tendrils that were holding her down.

Moving to the edge of the wire
she calls and gently flaps her wings
capturing the attention of the figure
made of wire.

Plasticine arms instintively
touch the spot where the dormant child
lived in dark solitude.

Both fear, and confusion begin to emanate
off the plastic arms and beautiful wings.

A sense of hope further weakens the wire
fueling the possibility of
wholeness, worthiness, and love.

Can the two become one?
Can the wire and plastic melt
into the flesh of humanness?

The child held down by that
last remaining chain
quietly sighs.

But, something has changed
There is a shift
and both the fearless child butterfly
and the awkwardly graceful plasticine adult
know that it is only a matter of time
before they are transformed and become one.

Like a phoenix, they will sit upon their tiger
let the hot sun melt away even more of yesterday’s pain
and live harmoniously, seamlessly, together as one.
©Alexis Rose, image source: Pixabay

Thank you for reading my books: If I Could Tell You How It Feels, and Untangled, A Story of Resilience, Courage, and Triumph    

 

34 thoughts on “Plasticine Arms and Butterfly Wings”

  23. We are the only ones who can offer those loving arms that our younger selves needed that we never had the chance of having as we were younger, and, we will, learn to embrace all of our selves, especially the scars, because that’s what made us into who we currently are…

    Liked by 1 person

  28. I think you touch on that tension between the private and the public. When we go “public” with our art then we need to curate it and it needs to be a certain “standard,” even though it is still self-expression. When we’re “amateur” then it’s unedited self-expression. It’s raw but I think there’s value in it. I’m definitely kindergarten about clay but it helps me to express myself in a way I otherwise wouldn’t.

    Liked by 1 person

  32. Ohhhh, I love that visual. Thank You! Its kind of how I was feeling. I thought about trying to draw it but knew I didn’t have the skills to get across what I wanted to say in picture.

    Like

  33. This feels so delicate, so fragile…it’s brought together with such poignancy when the wire and plastic join, like the child is being supported as if being wrapped in a warm cocoon. Beautifully written and really intriguing xx

    Liked by 1 person

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