CATERPILLAR WOMAN

caterpillar woman
clinging to a tree 
sees butterflies
quick hummingbirds
fluttering
swift
free

beneath
marjoram leaves
bright fushia blooms
warm air emits
faint sound
pretty things
tiny wings
flying round
and round

caterpillar woman
still clinging to that tree
in silence glares
dumb-founded stares...
that butterfly
     could be me

© Barbara Gari Serio, 1997