if i had known it would flit off
like that i’d’ve rested 
my eyes on it a little longer
but i didn’t know 
and didn’t look long enough
no, i reached for my phone
in an attempt to render
68 billion of its pigments
inside a net of pixels
a jar without holes
my friend 
where we were going
there is no need to breathe
but you were headed 
somewhere else
iridescent red-orange empress
or is it orange-red?
bright enough to carry poison
landing at my feet 
with the quietest 
of orchestral swells
each spotted wing
burning phosphenes
in my mind’s eye
a two-second touch
all fire and no ash
it left and i couldn’t tell you
when or how
it was just there 
and then it wasn’t