Chrysalis by Ayaan Fahad

Chaos, carnage, catastrophe.

Bones and skulls rot in graves;

One with the earth.

A larva's chrysalis, a tellurian rebirth.

A flower blooms, amidst humanity's doom.

The leaves rust, artworks fade, covered in apocalyptic dust.

Grass grows through cracks in the cemented floor

Skyscrapers bow to nature, collapsing.

Mankind goes extinct,

The sun drowns.

A mockingbird sings in a choir.

Echoes ring through the moonlit streets.

A lamppost flickers.

The coyote wails to mankind's tragedy:

Macbeth's reprise.

The butterfly emerges from its chrysalis;

A terrestrial metamorphosis.

The clock ticks,

The day changes.

The moon stays afloat.

Bio

Ayaan Fahad is a poet from Lahore, Pakistan. He aims to write poetry that emotionally resonates with people and captures things left unsaid, incorporating raw emotion within his works.

Author's note

This poem relates to the magazine's theme of mythology as the primary concept of the poem is death and rebirth with the use of the chrysalis related to the phoenix mythology. The poem's depiction of the earth reclaiming nature evokes the myth of gaia who symbolizes Earth's resilience.