As children we are
temperamental,
full of life and emotion,
undenying in our need
to express ourselves
through rational means
or otherwise.
But as we get older
we learn to suppress 
these outbursts,
wrapping ourselves in 
a silk cocoon,
never letting other people in.
Secretly,
we want other people
to cut through the strands 
to what lies in our inner core
but we never let them,
re-structuring the cocoon
each time they pull it away.
And as we get older still
learning a little more each year,
we realise we've been hiding
from too many people
within our silken strands
and peek out when we think it's safe.
It's never completely safe
but then again, 
there's the risk.
That's what makes it beautiful;
We can learn to have
some of the most worthy things
in life
if only 
we are brave enough to reach out
and trust somebody.
To emerge from our cocoons
as monarchs
instead of the caterpillars 
we formerly were.