Yellow Caterpillers

I was young
When the town was small
Where the yellow caterpillars Used to crawl
The ground was bare
Where they moved the meadows
We built forts
In the uprooted boughs
They tore down the trees
Just to expand
Those big Yellow Caterpillars
Flattened up the land

Chased Tiger Swallowtails
And I got caught
Beneath some nasty skies
Watched the leaves
Turn their bottoms up
To be spanked by the windy rain
They slowly turn their faces
Back to the sun
And then there are places
You can't go back to again

I went back to my hometown
Walked by the mill pond
To the fair grounds
Stopped for a while
By the Smithies shop
Listened to memories
Of a horse clip clop
When in the distance
I heard the sound
Of Yellow Caterpillars
Moving around

© 1975 Stefan des Lauriers