Metamorphosis

A poem by Achuthan Panikath

Wed Aug 12 2026

First when the confidence of wrinkles
Were seen for the worry of the unsure.
Parents evolved to people
And I grew a decade in a day.

Then when the body reigned my mind
And I was the prize of the identity civil war.
Damages were done
But peace always returns.

When fantastical love gave way to the reciprocal one
I grew six lifetimes worth through blissful conviction.
A new dream was planted
The roots let me stand tall.

Some things end, and the sands fill every hole;
Castles shaped and wrought by each wave
I transformed into a believer
In the man I was becoming.

Today I am confident in my wrinkles.
I touch the scars of forgotten wars
And I remember that the metamorphosis
Has always been who I am.