Metamorphosis

I started life as an ordinary egg,
The size of a pinhead ... not very big,
It was laid by my anonymous mother,
Who, God rest her soul, didn't even bother,
About our well-being and survival,
Let alone our health or hygiene level.

After three days I felt restless as hell,
Trying to break free from my egg shell,
Only choice was to bite my way through,
Eating it entirely was what I'd have to do,
Besides hiding my presence, it has vitamins I need,
To become a healthy and strong caterpillar indeed.

I began eating tender leaves at first,
Because of my weak incisors at birth,
Then I started to moult after three days,
Going from first into my second phase,
I still have two more to go at the very least,
Before I turn into a beautiful chrysalis.

Life's very much like playing hide-and-seek,
With my many enemies week after week,
Emerging only in the night time to feed,
Gorging non-stop to satisfy my greed,
If I'm discovered, I'll be eaten by birds,
Or by parasitic wasps which is even worse.

Lately, I have this very strange feeling,
That my skin will burst open and start peeling,
To reveal the new me within this old body,
One that is totally different you will see,
Looking more like dried leaves than butterflies,
To camouflage myself against predator eyes.

As of today, it's already more than a week,
Inside this motionless cocoon the safety I seek,
On the outside everything looked calm and serene,
But it's a totally different story when you're in,
As if magic, my true colours suddenly appear,
We're almost at the end of my tale, I fear.

Slowly, I pumped air into my pupa casing,
To separate it from my body and shrunken wings,
Once that is done, I can now push very hard,
With all my might and all of my heart,
Just one last push and I'm free for my maiden flight,
Only after my wings have expanded and fully dried.