#24 The Flavor of Tears

I am a plant
with new growth
said the bird

I am
the underside of
the caterpillar who feeds
on me

I eat myself
It is exquisite agony

I taste my tears
as the caterpillar
eats them

Their memory
is etched
in my green flesh

(When the caterpillar
has fed enough
it will
metamorphose into a butterfly

I will go back
to being a bird

Someday I'll see it
when we're both out flying

Swoop down beneath it
Turn over in the air
Let it rest on my abdomen
for the time it takes
to remember me

Then I will eat it

I will taste its tears

They will taste like mine)