June Bugs
June Bugs
by Halifax
(Begging Your Pardon)
sunset showed up at the neighbors
went around back as if expected
alongside slunk gangly creatures
shushed dull party animals that try
the wrong keys on a locked screen
these dumb beetles bump the door
top and bottom rubbing repeatedly
sensuous on the jamb hum apologies
“if i woke you, excuse me, sorry guy”
clumsy humping the unmoved hinges
some sit still stranded on a windowsill
in wait for their turn to murmur numbly
planning an incessant sidelong skitter
to scratch spent black match heads
sure the next strike will ignite interest
undeterred by failure each rebounds
again laid out on a patio set prostrate
exhausted face down drunk on spirit
such patient penitence perturbs none
especially those enraptured by dusk
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
usually evening appeals bring attention
but these bugs beg an incorruptible dark
that lies convincingly July is a bed made
to stay up one more night without them
while they carouse wear out of Spring
for a visiting star, this porch light deity,
they nightly drag bellies on pilgrimage
sliding across blades and bare concrete
to pray to a day that came to stay on
in exchange for life’s meaningless hours
their headlong body collisions sparkle
light embers that crawl into dim brains
turning them to dry whimpering babies
since Star abandoned them for morning,
a new dawn snuffs out yesterday’s love
© 2011 Anonymous, SE America
I heard tell of this poem and thought i’d check it out to see what all the buzz was about.
The piece enlivened my exoskeleton and invigorated the antennae of my beguiled interest. I appreciated the structure and form of the poem–7 stanzas of quintets divided by an intermission of tildes (whatever happened to the umlaut break?).
I immediately noticed and loved how the poet seemed to infiltrate the mindset of his subject, the June bug, and extrapolated upon its psychology and motivation and even conjecturing upon June bug theology.
Adjectives used to describe the June bug are dead on accurate: ‘slunk’, ‘gangly’, ‘clumsy’… They are indeed ‘dull party animals’ with a curious existence. I think pondering about the existence of such common insects as the June bug can spark some very reflective Q and A sessions within our otherwise dead psyches.
Poetry is an art of wondering, after all!
I enjoyed the attention to detail and the writer’s perceptiveness in this compositon. Well done!
This reminded me of summertime as a kid…happy memories. Love Halifax
This poem is almost an ode to sitting by the window at night and reading into the insect commotion how much more fun everyone else must be having staying up late. I spent many summers staring through the screen. Bored. Strange that those moments have turned into some of my happiest recollections.
I rewrote the last line. Can’t remember how it goes now though.
“dawn extinguishing yesterday’s love” or some such nonsense. Drat.
Glad you enjoyed the summertime reflection with me DIY.
Thank you for your comment. I appreciate it.
The tildes are standing in for a storm door.
Umlauts represent beetles.
öööö~ööö
(ü = Stinkbug)