The Caterpillar
There once lived a caterpillar who was hungry to fly,
He had passion in his belly and a fire in his eye.
“I hope to soar in the skies and spread my wings!”, he would say,
“I’m just a work in progress, but it’ll happen one day.”
As with all caterpillars, he had both good days and bad,
Some moments he was happy, other moments he felt sad.
He experienced small success, feeling nothing could go wrong,
Other times he fell on his face, but dusted off and rose strong.
“These are just hurdles that I must overcome,” he would say,
“I’m just a work in progress, but it’ll happen one day.”
So the caterpillar kept moving and eating through and through,
He rose early in morning, anxious to see what he could do!
He would say his nightly prayers, his eyes fixated high above,
While flowers danced around, and fireflies made love.
Then one day the caterpillar had a change of heart,
He would start all over; a new beginning, a fresh start.
First, he would need to consume his former self, body and all,
So he climbed up a leaf and hung upside-down, unafraid he would fall.
He began digesting his insides along with the stories from his past,
It felt uncomfortable at first, but he had faith this would not last.
As he slowly digested every fiber, muscle, thought, and feeling,
The caterpillar began to feel tired and started to drift from his being.
“Perhaps I will fly in my next life where I can feel the ocean’s spray,”
“I’m just a work in progress, but it’ll happen one day.”
The days grew longer and the sun’s radiance became stronger,
And yet the caterpillar had not emerged from his silky sheath,
He stayed attached to that small plant, hanging underneath.
When it seemed all but lost that he would emerge once again,
The caterpillar started to shed his cocoon; body, mind, and zen.
He molted through its silky hold and saw the world in new light,
His former self had passed away, and he smiled in delight.
He wanted to celebrate excitedly, but his new body would not budge,
He had grown in size with wings to fly, he just needed a nudge.
The reinvented caterpillar began to sob, feeling quite distressed,
But his change of heart also changed his mind, and he began to feel blessed.
“I was always looking for a way to escape, thinking I was nature’s prey,
Once I earned my wings, I was confident I could then fly away,
But now I know that having wings doesn’t always mean you can fly,
Flight comes from within, and the world and all its wonders are your sky.
I have my wings now, a change of heart, and am confident I am on my way,
I’m still a work in progress, but it’ll happen one day.”
