+

n i n e

did you know I

used to 

 roll my eyes

when people laid

   claim to

butterflies

 in their stomach.

because I 

didn’t, and doubted I 

ever would

 experience it.

but if the

   feeling they were describing

is this one

then I don’t 

   think they were 

doing it justice. because

right now

I feel as though

    there are

  one thousand

 fireflies

lighting me up

 from the inside, 

as if it were the

   fourth of july 

(in the middle of

 autumn) in there

as if

 one million

glitter particles

are exploding 

 every nanosecond

as if I have

 captured the moment

when the first baby

   laughed

for the first time, 

 in a bottle 

and swallowed it.

    butterflies?

I call their bluff.