Poem: "wings of paper, wings of lace"

This poem came from the March 1, 2011 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by minor_architect and thesilentpoet, both of whom wanted butterflies.  Now butterflies look pretty good when folded in origami, but awesome in kirigami.  So that got me thinking of the Origami Mage and the Kirigami Mage folding butterflies together.  This poem was sponsored by marina_bonomi. To read more poems about these characters, visit the "Serial Poetry" page on my website.

origami mage
folds a flock of butterflies
fluttering flat wings

kirigami mage
cuts butterflies from rainbow
paper and lets go

origami mage
watches sun shine through the holes
delicate beauty

kirigami mage
folds and cuts their paper wings
opening, closing

origami mage
stops folding butterflies and
starts folding flowers

kirigami mage
seeks out her rival's gaze, for
the first time smiling

origami mage
folds her hands and watches her
rival's gifts take flight