Metamorphosis

Worming its way
along a snaking grape vine,
its muted greens and grays
only half protect it
from the deadly pestilence
of sharp eyed birds
seeking to destroy
a juicy larva inching its way
to whatever is beyond.

Deep inside a rumbling begins.
It tastes the wretch of death.
Cocooned in golden chrysalis,
all begins to die, change, morph
caterpillar DNA liquefying
into shapeless mass,
dying to all it knows,
becoming something other
than what its always been.

Strange appendages sprout,
fine and delicate,
in colors never comprehended.
It bursts from mummified remains
flitting on new found wings
tickling the flowering vines
dancing on sunlit breezes,
diving in, sipping sweet nectar,
shouting gratitude to worlds beyond.

Bobbing, weaving, pollinating
bringing life to all it touches,
it cheers the plodding ones
encased in tangled vines
inviting, enticing, crying out
it distracts the hungry birds,
exhorting the creeping crawlers
to touch their calling,
to find new life in dying.