Stereotypical caterpillars emerge from their standardized cocoons

So beautiful is the process to the outsiders that see the before-and-after pictures

But what we don’t know about the caterpillar is how it feels amidst this chaos

Do some caterpillars crave the adrenaline of the wind beneath their wings

Do they long for the unique perspective of an eagle?

 

Or do some caterpillars resist this cocoon that seems to suffocate them?

Do they fight stubbornly in hopes that their lives can remain comfortably familiar?

Perhaps they were perfectly content chewing on the leaves of yesteryear.

Why must they be forced to undergo this dramatic change in their being?

 

If they’re aware of the changing process, they must watch in wonder

Their bodies melt and shape as necessary to take flight

If it were me, I would watch in horror and sadness

Surely some watch the inescapable metamorphosis unfold with excitement

I envy them

 

Instead, I stare out at the world as I internally weep

The sadness of leaving the world behind and knowing I cannot return is too great

Quietly, I allow the change

And for the last time,

My elementary school bus leaves the world I knew behind

Around the bend lives an existence that couldn’t be further from my own

 

I cannot live in the limited space of the cocoon any longer

It begins to break, and it hurts a little

This suffering, I know, will refine me for the better

It is necessary and unstoppable

And with a deep tear in the veil that once held her back

The stereotypical butterfly emerges bright and beautiful

A new creature whose tears have been worth it