Cracked Butterfly

Healthy caterpillar, young and strong.
Happy, determined little caterpillar.
Spun a cocoon and weaved it well
To last through the weeks ahead.

Danger.

Winds blew, thunder crashed,
Lightning streaked across the sky.
The cocoon began to tear;
Rain pummeled the earth below.
Caterpillar tears mixed with the rain
As the cocoon kept r i p p i n g.

Lightning collided with the tree.
Branches fell slowly one by one,
And Caterpillar fell with them.
All the way down to the ground.
Finally, the storm passed.

Caterpillar crawled out of the cocoon
With strange wings on his back.
Wings that scared him and made him
Gasp for breath through his tears.
C r a c k e d wings, shattered wings.
Wings not made for flying.

Poor, broken butterfly
Crawls back into the cocoon.