Metamorphoses (Nerudesque)

          When an extra finger is added,

           to gnaw it off makes you cry out

           in pain....

                                             Chuang Tzu

Is it impertinent to ask

why moths fly to flames?

Do they confuse the lantern

under a basket with the sun?

Or is it just a matter of

misunderstanding names?

Why don't they wake early in the morning

from a fantastic dream and fly straight

into sunrise to become butterflies?

Do owls recall when they were

simple-minded eagles and unwise?

Do bats dream of being mice?

And amoebas—do they dream

of being twice-born?

The unicorn—does he or she

have nightmares under a rack

of antlers?

So with the polar bear.

Is it some boring bruin

who followed the bright ice

north growing waterwings?

Or under all the whiteness

is just some grizzled fright

who one Spring night neglected
to awake from dreams of ice cream
and seal-flavored popsicles?

E. A. Costa 24 May 2014 Granada, Nicaragua