1. Brown Butterflies A poem By Rebecca Isbell

2. I am finally breaking out of the cocoon that I have created for myself for weeks long. I know that I am a little behind, But I was never diagnosed. Others broke out days ago.

5. As a caterpillars, I knew inside something was wrong. Still I went through everything that future butterflies do. I went through the same lifecycle: Egg to caterpillar to cocoon to butterfly

6. I tried to eat the same leaves and eat the same way. I ate the square leaves, while the other caterpillars ate the round leaves. I swallowed the square leaves. However, the other caterpillars chewed them.

9. When I broke out, there is an inner glow that I felt. It only last until someone called me a moth. They told me that I have brown wings.

10. I saw myself as a moth. Someone who is dark and ugly. I began being placed in groups of other “moths.” Maybe, I should have not gave up on chewing the round leaves.

13. When I was by the water with the other “moths,” I saw our reflections. I had the antennas like a butterfly. Other “moths” had the colors and wings. We were all butterflies.

14. We then ask the butterflies if we could migrate with them. They first said no because we weren’t butterflies on the outside. I told them to take a closer look. We are all butterflies on the inside.

16. Today, I take pride in being a brown butterfly. I let myself lay on the prettiest of all flowers and drink the sweetest nectar. We may have a broken wing, different color, or a different behavior, But we are all butterflies.