By Johanne LaRoque
When you were a tiny oval thing
Adhering to a leaf
Were you afraid
Of those seeking you to eat?
The ants, ladybugs and wasps…
I wonder…
Could they see your shape of round
Hiding in your growing ground?
What about when you grew bigger
Had stripes of different colors
Could you move fast?
Did you travel under cover
Of leaves, stems and branches?
Did your heart leap startled
Each time you shed your skin
To keep up with
The body you were growing in?
Were you afraid
Of being snatched
By Birds, reptiles or amphibians?
What about tall, spindly insects
Poised in piety?
Their gaze would fill the bravest with anxiety.
And when your chrysalis was thinning
With the growing of your maturity…
Was your heart filled with fear?
Did your body ache from pain
Leaving the comfort and security…
Of being tightly wrapped?
Or did your spirit know
That you would emerge in beauty
Complete, transformed and able to fly?
