My AP English Lit. teacher thinks I should send this in to the New Yorker magazine. I'd like some feedback first, though. Here goes...

Departing Anxiety

A clinging child torn from his mother,
The child bereft of the nurturing milk,
Longing to bond with his familiar source.

A flock of birds on a driven journey,
Seeking at last better surroundings,
For etching out a new concourse.

A sailor leaving the raging waves,
Which sustained him from the beginning of time.
He withdraws with conflicted remorse.


A caterpillar in a home spun of silk,
Transforming against a will of her own,
Emerges a creature of beauty, of course.

As she takes flight anguish tugs at her core,
Though all new journeys do bring new light.
Anguish forever her driving force:

Will she be a memory, drowning where cast?
Or will she remain at one with her past?
Only Time will tell if her legacy will last.