the cocoon hung fat on the sagging branch
a slight wriggling
barely perceptible
at first
then the struggle
intensifies
the branch bobs under the shifting weight
minutes pass
a halflifetime trapped in constraint
slowly
frantically
it begins to burst free by nanometers
squirming through the lazarus exaltation or (re)birth
a brightly colored burst in the muted woods
a lone drop of rain
lands
directly upon
the newly freed
soul
with a sizzling hiss
the world seems
darker