Color erupts on the desert floor
Yellow, purple, white framed by green
The winter rain washed it all clean
Fragrance from delicate blossoms
Paints the air – sweet
Strangers meet behind camera eyes
Capturing a moment of Spring’s glory
On the march, fuzzy coats
Supported by tiny feet
Hungry mouths moving to their own beat
Swarming like flies, thousands of tiny caterpillar eyes
Moved across the sand
Devouring every plant standing
Beneath the blue sky
Reminding us all must eat and die
During our brief time under the sun
Why not shine and have some fun
The flowers stand bright and tall
Despite the unavoidable fall
From age or caterpillar bite
One never really has in sight
What will take us in the end
We can live in fear of what’s to come
Or rage in anger, cry in despair,
Screaming it’s unfair
Fall into denial, pretending
Death won’t find us
We hunt for ways to buy more time
Dreading the clock’s incessant chime
This transient world of death and life
Seems to be filled only with strife
Flowers struggle to grow and bloom
Only to suffer caterpillar doom
Some blossoms will survive
The marching hoard and die wilted
Giving seed to next year’s revive
An endless cycle of changing form
Beautiful and terrifying like a storm
Within yet beyond, a way out
There is no need to shout or scream
This is all just a dream
Dreamt by no one nowhere
****
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