After Chrysalis
A caterpillar has no thought
to leap off some leaf. And yet
when our Creator nudges
life's essence inside it wanders off.
Goes to a quiet place as if to say,
"Let me be fashioned by the art of God.”
Entrusts animated breath to its Creator
whose alchemy reconfigures its nature.
Monarch’s essence waits actively-passive
inside a pupa gilded with gold,
receives an imprint from Christ’s fingers -
an unimagined transformation.
And when chrysalis rapture is done,
the moment monarch wrestles free
of wonder’s timbre, first voyage unfolds:
Wing tips touch, the chrysalis cast off.
And I too must cast off my chrysalis,
though I have no desire for a limp like Jacob,
nor a thorn like Paul’s that pains my side,
yet I hear God's call to wrestle free.
© Craig A Roberts, 2024
Photo: Adobe Stock
