carries through sweltering nights,
scattered by faint breezes
among the swirling mosaic of stars.
Years of xylem sustenance and tunneling
in the Earth’s sunless belly
propel the insects’ passion,
excite their chorus,
as they excavate a path toward the sky.
Clinging to the rough bark of trees,
they leave the delicate shell of more
than a decade behind,
exchanging their wrinkled, tea-stained skin
for the viridescence of the surrounding leaves and grass.