Rescue by Martha Christina

1.
I capture the insect
in a paper cup, carry it
to my biologist friend
for identification. A true
bug, he laughs. Harmless.

He died that summer
researching in a remote
location. No one could
reach him in time
to save him.

2.
Today’s harmless
true bug crawls up
and down my kitchen
window, carrying loss
in its folded wings.

I capture it in a paper cup,
carry it to the porch railing,
where it sits for a moment as if
reassessing its surroundings,
its chances, then opens its wings.



Martha Christina has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press). Her work appears in earlier issues of Red Eft Review, and recently in Star 82 Review, Crab Orchard Review, and Tiny Seed Journal’s Pollinator Project. Born and raised in Indiana, she now lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.