Poetry A Day Challenge 26: A Poem About Change

April 26, 2020

Poetry A Day Challenge 26: A Poem About Change

Happy Sunday Houston, The Mad Houstonian, here.

Welcome to Day 26 of the Poetry A Day Challenge by Robert Lee Brewer, of the wonderful Poetic Asides Blog, at Writer's Digest.

As he explains in his post...

For today’s prompt:

Write a change poem. This could be a poem about something that has changed or something that will change. Changing tires, clothes, or perspectives. Change left over when paying for something with cash. Feel encouraged to change it up today.

Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want. In other words, it’s more important to write a new poem than to stick to the prompt."

(My Day 1 poem is here)

So...what did I do?

In 2016 I wrote a poem about "Change", inspired by a critter I encountered walking to and from work.

It was a Caterpillar!

This little creature was absolutely determined to make it to someplace and its journey had led it from who knows where to where it found itself when I encountered it....

climbing a very high wall with no idea what it would find once it reached the top.

I grabbed my cell phone and, as I spent 5 minutes observing its efforts, took several photos.

During my breaks and lunch, at work, I thought about how I could turn the journey of this beautiful creature into a poem or song for this blog.

This is what I came up with...

Travelin' Caterpillar By Kiril Kundurazieff (With humble apologies to the great Southern Rock Band Lynyrd Skynyrd and their song... Travelin' Man (Music Video version w/Lyrics) )

I was born a travelin' Caterpillar, but that's not all I'll ever be
Movin' around from lot to lot to find a spot to grow and fly free
My parents were Butterflies when love stung them and they made whoopee
And from the day that I was born a similar fate was ahead of me

I'm a travelin' Caterpillar
A travelin' Caterpillar
A travelin' Caterpillar, that's what I am
A travelin' Caterpillar, oh that's what I am

A travelin' Caterpillar that's what I am, no field puts a hold on me
You'll see me once or maybe twice, that's all you'll see of me
No, stayin' in one place I'll be bored I hope you understand
I'm no fool, Lord no, accept that I am a travelin' Caterpillar

I'm a travelin' Caterpillar
A travelin' Caterpillar
A travelin' Caterpillar, that's what I am
A travelin' Caterpillar, oh that's what I am

A travelin' Caterpillar that's what I am
But I won't always be
A travelin' Caterpillar that's what I am
One day soon, though, I'm gonna fly high and free, yeah

I'm a traveler
A travelin' Caterpillar, oh that's what I am

A travelin' Caterpillar that's what I am, Lord I have to move fast
I've climbed a few walls, looking for a safe place to rest
I'm just a mover, movin' fast along the ground
Soon I'll fly high and free, just floatin' around