Hello to All d’Versians gathered here today at this site of pubtalk and poetry! Lisa here, hosting Open Link Night. The jukebox is queued and liquid refreshment is on standby. Let the poeming commence!

The long winter in the northern hemisphere often feels like being encased in equal measures of lethargy and suspended animation. As the skies grow more blue and signs of life begin to stir, we begin to squirm and get ready to fly.

This past weekend, I met up with my older son, younger son, his wife, and their baby daughter, who is already 11 months old. How time flies. Younger son and his wife have a membership at Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park, as do I, and they have been taking the baby to the gardens on Saturdays. Much of the indoors part of it is under the roof of what looks like a giant terrarium, where you can walk through areas that include dessert, temperate (it’s full-fledged spring in there now, with hyacinth, tulips, and daffodils in bloom,) carnivorous plants (did you know there is such a thing as a winged pitcher plant?,) and finally the largest section, the tropical, where bamboo and trees reach for the sky, bright hibiscus and orchids shine, and tiny quail skitter over trails.

Also at this time of year, in the tropical section, they have a butterfly event, where they bring in chrysalises of butterflies from all over the world. They rest in lines and look like hospital nurseries full of babies wrapped in swaddling. I’d seen monarch chrysalis before and noticed the gold dots on the green but never thought much about it. Some seen this weekend looked more gold than not, which got my curiosity going. Doing a little research, I learned word chrysalis is derived from the Greek word chrysos meaning gold. I was going to try to explain the scientific aspect of how it happens but it is way complicated. If you want to know the science behind it click on “Ask an Entomologist.”

The following excerpt from Joan Murray’s excellent poem, Chrysalis, describes the life cycle of the butterflies that she and her son encountered one summer:

I remember the monarchs my son and I brought in one summer
on bright pink flowers we’d picked along the swamp …
We never noticed the
caterpillars
till we puzzled out the mystery of the small black things
on the marble top–which turned out to be their droppings.
And soon, three pale green dollops hung from the carved-out leaves,
each studded with four gold beads–so gold they looked to be
mineral–not animal–a miracle that kept us amazed
as the walls grew clear and the transformed things broke through,
pumped fluid in their wings, dried off–and flew.

Another excerpt, this one from Jody Lee Collins, called, Cocoon:

Chrysalis—gold. All that remains
when death is past and days
have vanished. New life comes,
unfurls its way to the neverseen.
Eclosion complete, I raise my
wings and fly.

And now we have come to the moment we’re here for: linking up our poems!

Just a reminder: Open Link Night means you can post ONE poem of your choosing (no specified form, length, word prompt etc.) Also, we request you either TAG dVerse or include a line at the end of your post that includes a link back to dVerse.

Those of you new to dVerse, here’s how to participate:
•Post any poem of your choosing on your blog or website.
•Click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and enter the direct URL to your poem
•On your blog, please provide a link back to dVerse. This enables others to enjoy our prompts, increases our readership and thus increases the responses to everyone’s poems.
•If you promote your poem on social media, use the tag #dverse poets
•Please do read some of the other responses to the prompt and add a short comment or reaction. Everyone likes to be appreciated! The prompt is open and linkable for several days so do stop by another day and read a few of the latecomers too.
•Have fun!