Strange Shades

In the museum, I find solace

in the butterflies, tearing 

across the entrance wall

crisp black on fluorescent white.

Outside, where the sky pushed me down,

here is cooler and emptier.

The counter man smiles shyly,

like a toddler.

Going to grab a pamphlet,

a girl runs through my arms,

straight through them, 

As if I were a ghost.

Her light-up shoes squeak 

the marble floor

and cast patches of light

in the strangest shades.

Cover photo: by Masaka Kubo

https://www.facebook.com/idnmag. “Masako Kubo — Tokyo, Japan.” IdNTM, 5 Sept. 2012, www.idnworld.com/creators/MasakoKubo.