I tried
To capture a butterfly
In my hand,
Hold its beauty
Forever!

But It beat
Its wings
Against my fingers,
Tried to escape,
And died.

I only wanted
To hold its colors,
To share with others,
To enjoy its perfection
For a little while.

I tried
To capture words of perfection
And Beauty
On a page
Of purest white,

But they would not
Be held.
They would only
Take flight,
Escaping into the air.

I tried to capture
Your love
In my hands,
To hold your heart
Forever,

But it became
A captured thing
That beat its wings,
As it tried to escape
Its prison.

And thus I learned
Love, like beauty or words,
Cannot be held
Against its will
In a cage.

Free it must be,
Like angel wings,
Like a sigh,
Or a breath of wind
In the air,

To go where it will,
To live forever here,
Or just stay awhile,
And then move on
To another.

Dedicated to the Love who left...
Scarlett Treat
May 29,2007

Scarlett Treat

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/cages-prisons-and-other-forms-of-capture/