So this is what it feels like—
Change.
A cocoon enveloping the past.
The willing caterpillar
focused on the yet-to-come.
Transformation within: the task.
I’m told,
to be a monarch, a caterpillar must
hang upside down inside the chrysalis
dissolve itself into a soup of cells
and then wait
for what seems like ages
to become someone new.
Wish me wings and good luck.
I am determined to catch a glimpse
of what comes next.
Maybe a butterfly, maybe a moth.
2025 © Celia Lang
Celia Lang is a poet, writer, and writing group facilitator who lives in Northampton, MA. She is working on her first book of poems. Celia is
cofounder and producer of “Lesbians WriteOn,” a weekly program on Zoom. Find her writing poems on the trail or in a kayak.