A Dragonfly
rests motionless on my finger
as I gently unravel
the spider’s silk
that is caught
around its wings and thorax.
It seems weightless,
with its dark, slender body,
and six fragile legs on my skin.
I unwrap each strand
until the dragonfly is free,
yet it doesn’t move.
We become a stillness
that dissolves into the morning
until suddenly it shimmers away
on brilliant wings
transparent into the blue.
© Vanessa Proctor
‘Dragonfly’ was published in ‘Quadrant’ Vol 57. No 1-2 2013 and has been accepted for publication by ‘The School Magazine’.
Australian Children’s Poetry 