Karen Jakubowski’s most recent poem to appear here was Gifted Delicacy, published as part of Contributor Series 11: On Birthdays in July 2012).

Rebirth
By Karen Jakubowski

I’ve always attuned to butterflies.
Don’t get me wrong, I like dragonflies,
fireflies too, needle bodies iridescent
wings abuzz or bulbous bellies flickering
in warm twilight; both grant glee
inciting moments. But butterflies flutter,
taste with their feet. Russians dub butterfly
babochka (little soul). Ancient
Greeks understood, their butterfly
term psyche means soul. Chrysalis weaver’s 
second birth. How many lives do
humans get? Five butterflies, surgical
remnants, alight my abdomen;
each mark one decade of survival.
Reborn I celebrate my birthday by