Caterpillar’s advice

A caterpillar, once I met
Tiny, inconsequential
Camouflaged in a green bush
Covered with cold sweat

A silly query, I did make
Why do you hide away
Confined to a tiny corner
In this big majestic garden
Of glowing flowers, of ripe trees, of tranquil lakes?

A long time, he kept his silence on
Tucked comfortably
Behind an overgrown bush
Blocking every corner
His eyes could have gone

Some grand story, you have me told
Of magic, of wonder
Of some make belief splendor
Of an amazing mystic world
That hides my gold

Very little, it is that you know
A life on the ground
Of finding edible bugs to drinkable swamps
Of making myself invisible
Camouflaged from unknown ferocious foes

A little shiver, ran down my spine
A faint tear, rolled down my eyes
For I found myself overwhelmed
At the similarity
Of his truths and those of mine

O precious one, I did call out
Why don’t you see
One day, you will be
a winged butterfly
Discovering a world of infinite beauty

A destiny, magical in scope
A radical transformation
From the ground to the skies.
You have in store,
Something for which I can only hope

A heavy sweat, he wiped off his head
It’s easy to be taken
With the magnificence of stories
No caterpillar turned into a butterfly
Who got himself starved and dead

A more glorious tale, is of the one who
Found himself, an artistic canvas to sketch
The precise shape and form of grounds he waded through and
The imagined hues of the sky he hoped to fly to

A word of advice, he gave to me
Born out of care, born out of affection
Dearest one
There is truth, there is meaning
In both
The world as is
And the world that could be