Waiting while you
Flutter around
Trees, bushes,
Watching dark purple
Cone-shaped flowers on
Ends of bowing branches
Green leafed, spindly
Bush on this summer day.
I haven’t seen one like you,
Colors of a spotted leopard,
Orange, black, shimmering.
You land on a purple flower
Thin legs lifting, dancing a two-step
Salsa.
Your black, thin straw with a hinged section
Slides seamlessly in and out
Of individual flowers
Retrieving sweet nectar to
Fuel your fluttering flight.
How fragile, durable you are.
Vibrantly alive for this
Moment of feeding, not ever
to be crawling on the ground
Hungry for a chance to fly.
Does a caterpillar realize the
Butterfly is even possible?
What Does a Caterpillar Know?
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Sometimes I wonder if it even matters that the caterpillar may not know or realize it’s destiny. Do they have a choice?
As humans, we have a choice and I wonder how many of us refuse to become our butterfly. I wonder if I’m guilty of that at times.
Thank you for challenging my (our) thoughts.
What a great question you’ve raised, John. No, I don’t think the caterpillar has a choice. Yes. Human beings can resist change, the unknown or surrender utterly to their evolution, The infant human baby is destined to become an adult human being-yet what kind of adult human being will that baby become? The power and pull of the inner world of agency, desires, values, and loves can be the fuel for the metamorphosis and many transformations that can take place in human development and evolution. That’s been part of my experience and I’m grateful to constantly remain open to the spirit world, the natural world, the contrasts of tensions that push my own evolution. I appreciate your reflections as I do believe some people fiercely resist change, their own growth inside the grit. It may seem too terrifying to surrender, to let go so completely to the liquid goo of disorientation and transitions. It’s not comfortable.
Wonderful! “Does a caterpillar realize the Butterfly is even possible?” What a perfect question
Thank you so much, Carol!!
Thank you so much for your kind, beautiful words, Larry. You’ve found your poet’s voice, my cherished friend.
This is beyond good, it reaches into the heavens and becomes inspiration, beauty and like a light in the sky it enlightens us. Thank you my dear friend . Strong Ink Indeed.