White Butterfly

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A white butterfly flutters through the saltsea summer light.

A poet drinks coffee in the beach cafe and writes about flying.In the nearby hospital her father is dying.

She wonders if the butterfly is a winged spirit. Her imaginings make her smile.

A heat haze shimmers over the stony beach.

Brightly coloured parasols open up to greet the sun.

The air is full of excited chatter and coconut sunscreen.

Tea is poured into plastic cups.

A seagull eyes a discarded sandwich, a barking spaniel retrieves a tennis ball from the waves.

The poet takes comfort from these worlds. She finds strength to return to the hospital.

Her father dies peacefully, in the early evening.

A white butterfly flutters through the shrubbery outside the ward.

The beach people slowly fold up their parasols, and prepare for the journey home.

The saltsea summer light will soon surrender to inevitable night

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