Last of Fall

It was dark in my cocoon
  and then I emerged
High in the air
   it made me dizzy

I grew and did my work
  I worked for my mother
The winds would blow
  but my mother held me tightly

Except for a few big winds
  When mother could not hold to all of us
But even then not only we suffered losses
  But an arm of mothers would break
And those she held with that hand
  Were never seen again

There were many like me
  That my mother held to tightly
But some had heard from more like us of another mother
  That there would be a time of liberation

These like us from the other mother
  Were very loyal and were very old
Twice as old as all the others

And then others
  That did not look like us
But they lived a very long time
  Some say forever

And then, one day, those like us
  Were not heard from
Silence
  All at once
    The mother disappeared as well

And then came the time of liberation
  It came slowly at first
I found I had become sluggish
  There was no longer enough time in a day
    To finish

And then, a few began to leave the mother
  Some looking for a better mother
But I would stay
  I was loyal

Soon almost all like us from the other mothers
  Were leaving their mothers
I thought they were crazy
  Their mothers had supported them since birth

Then the rumors began
  Some said that the mothers were cutting off food
I didn't believe it at first
  I should have

One day my mother cut off my food
  I didn't understand
And then, that same day
  A new cocoon formed near me from the mother

Maybe those who had left were right
  Maybe the mother didn't care about us
This new cocoons was obviously to replace me
  Why?

I was confused but hung on
  As long as I could
Soon all others on my mother had left
  And so had all the others on the other mothers

I let go
  I felt so free
    So light
I drifted for a while
  I spun round and round and round
    So light

I was wondrous
  Why hadn't I let go sooner
Every one else was right
  Why did I wait

Mother had been so cruel and oppressive
  I worked a whole year
And all she did
  Was try now to replace me

Well, I left
  Now she can use that young upstart

But as I was rejoicing
  My flight ended
    Somewhere I had never been before
I realized I had no food
  Nothing to hold to
    Nothing to hold to me

For the next few days
  I grew weaker and weaker
Tossed about by the wind
  But I wan not alone

All that had fled before me
  were dead or dying
What death
  What carnage

I was the last to leave the mother
  Why had she sent us to our deaths
After all we had done
  For her

And that new upstart
  What does he know
He thinks he's so invincible
  That's what I had thought

He kicked me out
  With the mothers help
Had I ever done the same
  Did I send another to this

And then I died