~After the quote:  “Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?” from the Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot by Alexander Pope, 1735


Coming Back to Life:

Preserving wisdom–
These frosted waters are blurred
The briar and thorn
burning like bloodied honey
that seeps under cedar doors

The Winter violet,
an antediluvian
storm that perseveres
A crisp acumen ignites
the Robin before the dawn

An acclivitous
reflection craves memory
that covers the wound
But how can the wept moon stop
the rebellion of the sun?

©️Winter Dawn Burns