The Ladybug

​
​As I rode my bike along the bay
a ladybug rested on my leg.
The wind blew against us,
and I wondered if it startled her –  
if she felt too scared to fly away.

Or maybe she was happy she could feel fast,
with legs tucked in tight, wings sealed flat.
I shaded her with my hand, so maybe
she’d stay with me longer – it’s true
that strangers can make us feel vast. 

I thought about the people and things in our lives
who help us feel known, seen, less alone;
we fall so deep, so quickly - only
in "goodbye" do we concede
to the trade that we've made.

Admission to dependence,
I make peace with her short stay.
Then I glance up the road,
and when I look back,
she’s flown away.