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Maura Stanton's
Life Among The Trolls
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Before you pour me down the kitchen sink
or else return my bottle to the store,
let me explain.  It's true I ruined your drink
but not on purpose.  You see I meant to soar
on new lavender wings when I hatched out
from sticky larvae.  I dreamed of wild nights
fluttering over the trees, floating about
the wide world so I could see great sights.
At last my body changed.  Now for the fun.
I rustled my antennae, enraptured by
a bright glow I thought was the glorious sun
and flew straight up, not knowing I would die
fried by a light bulb moments after birth
inside a bottling plant, my sparkling earth.

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MAURA STANTON's latest book is LIFE AMONG THE TROLLS (Carnegie Mellon, 1998). She teaches at Indian University, Bloomington.

Visit Maura Stanton's Web Site at http://php.indiana.edu/~stanton/

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