With two million legs Love can be complicated. But one million legs Travel over the ground To find the other million… Together, the millipedes curl up In a paisley of love. They blend into each other’s curves In that conch-shape embrace: Watching them, I wonder… Perhaps some of those legs are arms That hold each other close?

Surely the most mysterious Transformation of all… When a worm turns into a shining case From which emerges, wondrously, A delicate creature of colour, and air. Here’s the metallic sheen Of a pupa, in which The body, head and wings Are developing. Given the beauty of the pupa, Isn’t it ironic That what will emerge from it Is going to be a butterfly That’s called the Common Crow?