by Holly Day
The caterpillar crawls along the leaf, a promise of butterflies
thwarted. Rough, orange knobs cover its back, a rash of wasp eggs
laid just days before. At any moment
wasp larvae could hatch and split through the caterpillar’s soft, emerald skin
tumble clumsily across its helpless body, devour it so slowly
until only a dead, empty husk remains.
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Holly Day
Holly Day’s poetry has recently appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, Grain, and Harvard Review. Her newest poetry collections are In This Place, She Is Her Own (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), A Wall to Protect Your Eyes (Pski’s Porch Publishing), Folios of Dried Flowers and Pressed Birds (Cyberwit.net), Where We Went Wrong (Clare Songbirds Publishing), Into the Cracks (Golden Antelope Press), and Cross Referencing a Book of Summer (Silver Bow Publishing), while her newest nonfiction books are Music Theory for Dummies and Tattoo FAQ.
Artist: Darina
Dream Noir 