A question I ask myself

Cicada nymph exoskeleton - Andy Smith

Are you as afraid, 
as the cicada is brave,
to let life split you open?
Your becoming wants to 

unzip you at the neck.
But you can’t call for your hopes, 
your dreams, your new life,
from the ground. No, 

climb the tree and ask desire
to tear open your old self— 
to shatter the shell that you always 
knew would be too small for you.

And once you are broken
open—  
crawl outside yourself
into yourself. 

Test your wings
begin to sing
and remember, the end is 
the beginning.

written_ June 27 2026

Freshly emerged cicada- Photo by Mostafa Elmi on Unsplash

I didn’t grow up around cicadas, but here in Central Texas they are a constant presence in the summer and suffice to say, I am entranced! How completely defined by the ground and winglessness their life must seem until something beyond their own consciousness causes them to climb a tree and become something entirely new. Throughout my life, I’ve had a handful of big, cicada-like transformations and many times more, something beyond myself has called me to moment-metamorphosis—to shifting my perspective so completely in the moment that I become something new in relationship to that time and place. Can you relate? I’d love to hear about it.