Sleepy Moth

a
sleepy moth
dreamwalked
onto my finger
from the hawthorn leaf.

As I held her up
to the light
to have a look at her
(admiring her furry little chest
like a miniature bison’s)

she
flicked her antennae forward
and waved them around vaguely grumpy
at something

then
deciding the effort of waking up was too much for her
(it was, after all, still quite early in the morning)

she tucked them
back down her sides......-     like someone pulling the covers over their head
......and fell asleep again.
She looked so sweet
just sitting there asleep
her little legs             clinging    to the ripples and ridges
of my fingerprints
her tiny feet
tightly dreamlocked to them
It reminded me
of how babies clutch at fingers held to them,
breathing softly and rhythmically,
their eyes still closed......

.... I lower my finger.

And slowly
......slowly
my little sleepy moth
dreamwalks
from its tip
back
on
to
her
hawthorn leaf. 

Deborah W. A. Foulkes