Maybe it was big spiders
From underneath the eaves
Or maybe just a little bird
That came down from the trees
Or maybe some fat garter snake
That crept up from the lawn
In any case, the next morning
All those four were gone...

Poor monarch caterpillars
Plump as plump could be
Contented, moving slowly
On their sweet milkweed
All four gone for ever
We'll see them not again.
Pretty butterflies on air
Alas, they would have been...