The Butterfly Dance

Clad in a virginal white negligee
With feathers on my slippers
And butterflies in my stomach
Not knowing what to expect
I step into the room

Strange, my new husband has gone to bed
As I shyly approach, he turns back the covers
And, with a gasp, I glimpse a bare, naked leg
Of all things
The butterflies flutter as I slide next to him

He hands me Jack Daniels “champagne”
With one touch to my lips, I know
I do not like amber “champagne”
And the butterflies cascade
In a dance of their own design

I cling tightly to my modesty
In billowing layers of white chiffon
Fully unprepared to be in bed
With dancing butterflies
And a new naked husband

With a promise found only in the heart
He embraces me in his arms
And with gentle kisses, assures me
I will love you for always and forever
And the two become one
(Genesis 2:24)

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Bess Terrell’s faith guides her writing. After the premature death of her husband, she wrote almost exclusively about grief recovery, using her stories and poetry to help others on their path to a new normal. Bess has enjoyed writing and painting since an early age, entertaining everyone with her stories and illustrations. Along with a fellow widow, she published Finding Your Second Wind, a successful book of grief-recovery poetry. She received a new poets award for “Stones Ripple on Water,” included in the book. Bess has published numerous short stories and poems, both online and in magazines. She and Andy, her Yorkie, reside close to her three grandjoys.