She stood there, in her underwear

not minding me, drinking her drink

I wondered if this is what it all came down to

foreplay—or, was there a higher lesson to be learned?

It turns out—there is

Sensations capture us

like butterflies

in nets

their yellow and black wings

are beautiful

but where do they go?

The freezer

To be mounted on a wall

under glass

protected from dust mites

for the lingering eyes, of an entomologist

or the bored eyes, of a boy

or the tired eyes, of a janitor

You can’t preserve beauty

it’s alive.

She sipped her drink, lost in some daydream

Did you know, life is free, but they try to charge you for it?

It really is,

the home of the brave and the land of the free

but now we are cowards

and our freedom is gone.

I think about lost time

and what I would do differently

in many ways, I’m the same, but I just haven’t realized this

This

is what we should be doing

but it isn’t easily understood, in adulthood

because we have to make money at it

“I’m not free,” she said.

“Name your price.”