Best Caterpillar Poems
Ah what wondrous happenstance,
For a worm to reach by chance,
The form of a beautiful butterfly,
And sip the dew dew drops where they lie,
On silken petals fragrant, sweet,
In forest lawn till I'm repleat.
For now I'm locked in this chrysalis,
Dreaming of a lily chalice,
From which I'll sip the nectar sweet,
Where fairies dance on tiny feet,
In garden, glen and meadow land,
And apple trees in grandeur stand.
caterpillar dreams
of wings and sweet nectar -
while munching tough leaves
Hi dear friends, I’m back after a bad shingles attack and straight after that bronchitis verging on pneumonia.
Little Robin red breast bobbing up and down,
Would take away with glee, anybody’s frown
And friendly buzzing Mr Bumble bee delights,
Us one and all, he does not sting, it’s not his thing.
He visits flowers , red, yellow purple , pink and blue,
Which attract him, loves their pollen and alluring hue.
One day bumble bee and little robin decided to be human,
So prepared for tea and pancakes, without the gluten,
They saw Katy the caterpillar crawling on the lawn,
And invited her to join them, the following morn at dawn,
They all met for this fun occasion by the nearby river,
But an uninvited visitor arrived with shiny wings, such a diva.
A Hadeda elegant and loud of call thought she was an opera
Singer, had one thing on her mind, which was Katy Caterpillar,
She slowly walked on her stalk like legs towards this prickly
Little insect, wanting to swallow Katy who was so wiggly,
Down her gullet, but Robin red breast said no no, no,
And Bumble bee agreed and said, I think you ‘d better go
So with his wide spread wings the Hadeda flew away,
Leaving Bumble bee and little Robin to enjoy their day,
How wonderful was their idea for pancakes and tea.
Another visitor arrives, so famous, known to you and me,
Can you guess who.
He wears a top hat, mutters crazy sayings,
And carry’s a full tea pot , ‘do you want a cup of tea,
Oh dear, oh dear, my or me, he or she or maybe you.
He takes his watch out of his waist coat pocket and says,
‘I’m late, I’m late for a a very important date, no time to
Say hello goodbye I’m late I’m late I’m late’
‘It’s time for me to go,
Au revoir from your dizzy beau.’
It was the Mad Hatter, of course,
An Alice in Wonderland source.
What happened to Katy caterpillar, well fearing
For her life, Katy crawled under a nearby bush,
Did not intend to be a snack, or mealtime mush.
NB – THE WORDS UTTERED BY THE MAD HATTER – are both from the book Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll and some of my own.
HADEDA IBIS - referred to in South Africa as only Hadeda.
Caterpillar falls.
The dawn from drunk consciousness,
awakes from the darkness of night.
An eagle stares at the back of wind,
then floats downstream till the current ends,
and dips its wings in the orange sunrays.
The caterpillar slips off a branch of tree
to land on the eagle's back.
Rustling trees chatter against the wind's brush off.
Nature holds so much in her lap,
The feeble pointed spikes of flowers
shift aside for the green snake to pass.
The forget me not plant
keeps its promise for the cricket.
Oh! It rains and the muggy air,
is cleansed by its gentle showers,
The loud croak of bull frog
match with drops of rain,
Empress Nature reigns her endless territory.
Contest-A Natural Metaphor.
Sonsor-Jamie Pan.
23/1/2017.
The unknown fate of the caterpillar
Will it be butterfly or moth
Beauty or disgust
The caterpillar doesn't know
While it spins is cocoon
And begins it's compulsory service
Waiting and waiting
To see what it becomes
At last the moment...
My bitterness emerges
caterpillar
green, young
crawling, metamorphosing, molting
larva, silkworm, vertebrae, gossamer
flittering, flapping, perching
winged, iridescent
butterfly
Date written: 11/06/2022
CATERPILLAR:
Sweet, moist, musky earth pervades all of my senses
In safe darkness, beneath this leaf, my cool canopy
I have no wants as I slumber here in contentment
I am humbly grateful, alive with my blessings
Rested now, I feel a need to explore this place
Hungry to feed my belly and begin my journey
I crawl out from my haven into the brightness
The tree I seek is beyond this forest of grass
My world is brilliant yellow, brown, and spring green
I climb an etched blade, and feast on its succulence
I chew my way down, and nourished, I aim for my oak
My little legs scurry toward where I must rest soon.
COCOON:
The sky is pink, orange and red as twilight wanes
I am weary like the sun, slowly closing his eyes
I begin my ascent toward a branch high above
I labor up the scaly skin, finally to the limb
Nestling in a crevice of this arm that holds me
I watch the last ruby glow melt from the sky
My day's toil leaves me exhausted yet peaceful
Starlight’s gently sparkle a silent lullaby
I dream I am cradled in finely spun cotton
I dream I am nothing but pure spirit and joy
I dream I am falling, then floating, then flying
I dream of bright blossoms dancing in the air.
BUTTERFLY:
I awaken to darkness, yet hear birds singing
I have slumbered so long, and feel the need to stretch
My surroundings crackle when I extend my body
A thin, radiant beam enters, shocking my sight
This body's strange to me; I seem to have arms
I beat them against the sides of my enclosure
It crunches apart like dry leaves in the autumn
I stand on thin legs, atop a broken casket
The air is alive with wisteria and lilac
Upon its sweet breeze, I surrender myself
I flutter and float as I bask in the sunshine
I am a young orchid blossoming in the sky
Intricate patterns hide beneath the surface
Waiting to be found by someone
Observant enough to see
the beauty they can bring
Simple yet beautiful,
They bring joy to all around,
And complete it once they are found
The little lines lie listening for someone to look,
And suddenly they are found
Once,
an eager caterpillar I was,
dreaming of a butterfly to be.
Now,
a happy butterfly I am, flying
into the Lord's eternity!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
04 January 2020
this poem written for Bite Size Contest no119 Poetry Contest, Line Gauthier, sponsor July 28, 2025
METAMORPHOSIS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
caterpillar, clad in emerald armor,
pauses at the fence, a splintered barrier.
it inches forward, a tiny architect of hope,
navigating the spaces between
the known and the unknown,
as if the journey itself is a metamorphosis.
The Butterfly and the Caterpillar
“This is the end,” said the caterpillar.
“This is the beginning,” said the butterfly.
The butterfly is fulfilling its goal by leading
the life of a butterfly.
Why should he live like a caterpillar, only so
the caterpillars can be less afraid?
Since the butterfly knows the life of a caterpillar,
he can help the caterpillars to be less afraid when
he lives the life of a butterfly.
Who knows the sweetness of nectar,
shall never want to eat leaves again.
And how about you?
The rare moments you feel like a butterfly.
And there are days you feel like a caterpillar.
But isn’t it you who is exactly that butterfly,
who is helping the caterpillar to be less afraid?
Gary Bateman and Ingrid Krukenberg-Bateman
Copyright © All Rights Reserved
July 10, 2017 (Free Verse)
Caterpillar
Segmented, Colorful
Crawling, Nibbling, Hiding
Larva, Cocoon, Wings, Freedom
Fluttering, Landing, Pollinating
Pristine, Delicate
Butterfly
By: Greg Stanley
For Brian’s “Sixes and Sevens” Contest
Incy Wincy caterpillar, what are you doing there?
You’re not supposed to crawl up, you know it isn’t fair.
If you go to sleep up there, and then you make cocoons
What happens if you hatch out? One night on a full moon.
Incy Wincy caterpillar I really don’t want you,
Hatching in my bedroom, just cos you want too.
I’ll make a little bed for you, inside this nice matchbox
And when you hatch I’ll watch you, unfold your pearly locks.
Then I promise to let you go, you’ll find a lifelong mate
As long as you don’t lay your eggs here, I promise that’s a date…
© 22/03/2013
Tiny legs working.
Wonderful massage technique.
Pleasure undescribed.
Sweet caterpillar
Sitting on a leaf with joy
for soon it will fly
FOR CATERPILLAR'S GATE CONTEST
WON 6TH PLACE CONGRATS TO ME