Woolly Bear – a poem by Thomas R. Smith

Woolly Bear

Among the leaves flailed down by fall rain,
we find a woolly bear caterpillar.
How liquid its black eyes shine!  I pleasure
at its slight tickle curling on my palm,
carry it to a safer thicket.
Littlest bear, with luck you’ll make a lovely
Isabella tiger moth on the other
side of this winter we both feel coming.

How does your body know the changes
that will unlock your pale orange wings
in some future sun past loss and cold?
As a boy I loved you for yourself
long before any knowledge of what you
might be, as we all have hoped to be loved.

Thomas R. Smith is a poet, editor, essayist and teacher living in western Wisconsin.  His most recent books are Medicine Year (poetry) and Poetry on the Side of Nature: Writing the Nature Poem as an Act of Survival (prose).  His poems and essays can be found at www.thomasrsmithpoet.com.