Variatons on a Theme

When I traveled to the People’s Republic of China with an educational delegation in the autumn of 1994, one of the places we visited was a silk factory. It was fascinating to see the boiled cocoons and the spools of raw silk. I wish I had pictures to post—but all I have are slides of my trip there.Here are some of my poems about silkworm cocoons and pupae. These poems are variations on a theme. In my elementary classroom, I often shared a variety poems on a particular subject—butterflies, caterpillars, trees, the sun, the moon, winter, spring, etc.—to show my students how different poets might write about them from their perspectives...and in their own unique styles.The following poems in order are: a mask poem, an acrostic, a cinquain, and a haiku.SILKWORM PUPAThis silken nestIs where I’ll restAnd sleep and changeAnd rearrangeMyself into another me.In this small space,This creamy case,Six legs I’ll grow,Four wings—and oh…Can’t wait to see the ME I’ll be.Case spunOf creamy silken threads,Cozy cottage forOne, changing roomOf a sleeping pupa who will awaken to aNew self.Cocooncreamy silkensack—sleeping bag for oneyoung dreamer whose wish for wings willcome trueSwaddled in white silkspinning dreams of a futurethat will end too soonFYISilkworm Moth (Pictures)Silkworms MothsSilk Factory--Suzhou