Metamorphosis

If my mother were an insect,

She would be a moth.

Locked behind the window screen,

Fluttering past the crack she came through.

If I were an insect,

I would be starved caterpillar.

Too busy with Alice to worry—

Too busy to eat.

If my cat were an insect,

He would be a spider.

Which isn’t really an insect,

And that fits him fine.

If my lover were an insect,

He would be a Praying Mantis.

But lucky for him,

I’m a caterpillar.