After John Moat

Along the track-bed of the disused line
Strides butterfly boy in bright sunshine.
He walks on through a rocky cleft to the wide
Cliff tops with thistles, gorse, and celandines.
Lundy’s high, and so the fair weather’s set.
He watches Red Admirals and Peacocks glide
And then climbs down to a pebble cove beside
The old lime kilns, which brambles now entwine.
He sits. He unpacks his bag – a butterfly net,
Old jam pots, and a flask of carbon tetrachloride.
Now, he is ready for the hunt
And very soon with a swish and a flick, a butterfly’s confined.
Then, carefully (and with an untroubled mind) he slides
His catch into the killing jar.  Later, it is precisely set
With his bright needles – a new object for his strange cabinet.

Jim Lloyd was a winner in The Rialto ‘Nature and Place’ poetry competition (2020). His poems and prose has appeared in many places including: Fragmented Voices, Green Ink Poetry, The Rialto, Stand, One Hand Clapping, Poetry Wales, and Nine Pens Press. He has an MFA (distinction) in Fine Art from Newcastle University, and he is now studying for an art practice-based PhD on the representations of avian perception. This research uses multiple methods, including field sound recording, drawing and creative writing. He lives in Northumberland, UK.