I met a piece of everything

And was bestowed with a lesson

Space time reflected

Between velveteen wings

Without speaking one sentence

I witnessed four seasons

And learned all the legends

Of the land and the sea

Without sound I accepted

Without speech I believed

We were like leaves

Dancing in the same breeze

And my teacher told lore

Of a time before names

When the carbon within us

Formed in the same flame

In a garden we sat

Both holding our breath

In a moment between

Arriving and left

Without asking a question

Or even making a gesture

Professor gave lectures

A past shaped by adventure

One egg

Held blueprints

Of wings

And six legs

Thorax

Abdomen

Antennae

And head

Discreetly concealed

Beneath a Dog Violet leaf

Shell cracked and split open

In silence and peace

Creeping from between

Small black and thin

A new fragment of all

Was about to begin

My mentor was young

In this pass of the sun

Among grass and bracken

On a path to become

A new shape

To this state

Unimagined

Unfathomed

Still growth took place

Without plans

There was action

This I knew to be true

As I’d been there myself

Looking back on my path

How I emerged from my shell

And became a new shape

My old state couldn't fathom

I understood from the same one

My guide and I

Were two fragments

In a garden we sat

Both holding our breath

In a moment between

Arriving and left

Three times in the summer

We’d shed our old skin

To become something new

Then rest until spring

When winter was over

We dissolved what we were

In a space we created

For something new to emerge

In that place we had fashioned

We found a new scaffold

Consumed our old selves

As we grew from past travels

And we marvelled at patterns

Resting on fine scales

All things manifested

On this divine trail

In a garden we sat

Both holding our breath

In a moment between

Arriving and left

Absorbing all colours

Sent by the sun

Selecting only the finest

To reflect to the iris

I respected the style

We agreed it was fly

I knew my friend perceived more

Than I could see with my eyes

To create such a pattern

Without plans or a brush

At the right time there is growth

Never late

Never rushed

The pace was correct

Every step of the journey

At the shape meant for us

We can’t arrive early

This I knew to be true

The story mirrored my own

Only when looking back

Could I see how I've grown

My voyage determined

My shape at this date

Knocks and scrapes

Road blocks and mistakes

The options I’d taken

Navigating the hurdles

Brought me to this place

Made me this person

My comrade agreed

While preparing to leave

And bestowed one more lesson

I was yet to receive

With a flutter of wings

Orange, black and pearl bordered

I was warned on this voyage

Not to expect tranquil waters

To aimlessly drift

Is dangerous to risk

To expect to get gifts

Is no way to exist

This final lesson

My companion would tell;

On a journey of growth

We must break our shell

Leave our protection

And nourish ourselves

Create safe space to grow

Become something else

And when we spread wings

We had all along

We must seek nourishment

To keep ourselves strong

But only in searching

Can we know what we need

We must give of ourselves

What we hope to receive

And with that revelation

My master departed

To explore more moments

More questions uncharted

Without words I accepted

Without speech I believed

That we were both waves

Rippling the same sea

In a garden we’d sat

Both holding our breath

In a moment between

Arriving and death.

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