From the company of caterpillars
the rosebush gathers
what lies in store
Quiet little regiments of mouths
that drill and nibble in the night
Or under the great sun’s towering plenitude
the natural perfections
There is no beauty before them
Only avidity
only the necessity of being alive
And they last long upon the land
eliminating like us
Pacheco, José Emilio. "The Natural Perfections." Trans. George McWhirter. Selected Poems. Eds. George McWhirter and José Emilio Pacheco. New York: New Directions, 1987. pp. 111-12.