Imago

Catherine Graham
From:   Pupa. Toronto: Insomniac Press, 2003.

My life as larva has ended.

Silken girdle around my middle,
pupa blends with vegetation.

The greening gift of greener cloth,
my chrysalis — the last instar.

A swaddled change that can't be seen.
Internal systems rearranging.

Leather ripe, eclose my bind.
Shrunken leaf, laundry wet.

Pump in air, escape the crippling
drain of red. It's time, it's time.

Dew receives meconium.
Dawn, the quiet. Imago. Up.

Poem 1 | Poem 2 | Poem 3 | Poem 4 | Poem 5 | Poem 6

Catherine Graham's works copyright © to the author.