Something in the Air
There was something in the air.
She knew she'd sensed it before,
but couldn't put her finger on when or where.
Sitting in the garden
with the sun warm on her face,
the scent of freshly mowed grass
drifting on the breeze,
she closed her eyes
and breathed deep, trying to remember.
It was a long time ago,
she was sure of that.
A honeybee buzzed nearby;
but when she opened her eyes to see,
it had flown away.
A blue butterfly fluttered circles around her,
finally settling on her knee.
“What is it?” she asked.
But the butterfly had no answers.
~Elise Skidmore ©2026
Sweet. Loved that last line, the butterfly had no answers.
Thanks so much, Cornelia!
A mysterious peacefulness. I like it! These days, I take my bits and pieces of peace wherever I can find them, and try not to question the source.
Thanks, Linda. I was so exhausted yesterday and had no real clue where to take the prompt (unidentified). Maybe because it was a bright spring day, the first line came. I had no direction and this is what came of it.
The last verses are awesome and the beautiful mystique cre a ted by the gorgeous blue butterfly photo!
Thanks so much, Michael. I like the way this one turned out too. It does have a mysterious quality to it. Another poet friend of mine took it as being an older woman with oncoming dementia–which it very well could be, though I hadn’t thought of that when I was writing it. That’s the beauty of poetry–the reader completes it.