Photo (above) credit: Carol Good
Emergence
She lit on
a young milkweed leaf
gracefully curved her abdomen
laid an egg
then another
and one more
I know because
I watched
and checked as gently as
a clumsy human can
until one day those white eggs
were gone
Two tiny bright green caterpillars
ate their birthplace
when that leaf was stripped
they moved
to the next
then the next
I worried when I saw naked stems and
no caterpillars
I checked other milkweeds
found picture perfect
big beauties with
green, yellow, white and
black stripes
chomping and pooping
I heard the chewing
I feared for their survival when I saw ragged leaves and
no caterpillars
Until I found them
dangling jewels
peridot green trimmed in gold
I knew where they were
now the wait
until emergence
On a day of downpours
the transformation –
the chrysalis split
the winged wonder waited
until I looked away
then vanished
About Carol Good
Since retiring, Carol has redirected her creativity into writing – mostly poetry. She has published her second poetry collection, How to stay afloat: poetry in turbulent times, to mark her 70th birthday. She lives in an octagonal century home with her very handy husband located on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation – currently called Caledon. She recognizes the land as being home and traditional territory to Indigenous people since time immemorial.
