The Disillusionment of Nature

Stephanie Kapinos

Once when I was young I caught a caterpillar
And kept it in a dirty jar on the bookshelf in my room.
The sunlight would accent the spots on the glass.
I would supply it with leaves and a branch.
It would move sluggishly about
Gnawing on the chlorophyll of the withering shrubbery.
One day I came home with a black eye.
The caterpillar had encased itself in a cocoon.
I swirled my body in a sea of blankets and cried.
My mother said I was beautiful.
She said maturity only enhances beauty.
I waited as my caterpillar grew mature.
One day I came home with too much make up on.
The cocoon had a hole in it.
I searched for my beautiful butterfly of orange, indigo, and yellows.
Clinging to the small broken branch I found a dead brown moth.

First published in Helix Spring 2006.