I saw it from the corner of my eye
My skin crawled like the bug
Slowly creeping
My impulse was to kill
Ugly disturbing nuisance
I ran for the broom
To exterminate
This small creepy crawly thing
Causing my fear
But it was just a little cricket
Sort of cute if you think of Jiminy
Not as ugly or germ infested as a roach
That has no right to live
Even if it's simply, naturally,
instinctively seeking
instinctively seeking
Food, shelter, life
I let the little cricket hide
Die naturally sometime outside my view
To eventually be swept away
From dust to dust
Death to death
I too judge some critters as vermin and others as not especially when they come inside my house.....they live outside. I do try and get them back outside if I can....at least most. Well done as it is a paradox!
ReplyDeleteI am grateful for mercy shown to the cricket. Smiles.
ReplyDeleteYou did well- for the cricket, and the poem :)
ReplyDeleteThey can be annoying, as they sing their love songs.... over and over keep sleep at bay.
ReplyDeleteOh those poor creatures.. they may seem annoying with their constant heart to talk among one another in the stillness of the night; but i wonder whether in reality they are as lost in this world like us? Beautifully penned.💜
ReplyDeleteLovely.
ReplyDeleteI try and escort most 'interlopers' outside. They too are just trying to survive.
Sweet. Lovely poem.
ReplyDeleteI like the way in which you pinned this reflective contemplation against an ordinary snippet of life ... it gave me pause.
ReplyDeleteas a backwoods boy little critters are part of life and I enjoyed your take on them...
ReplyDeleteThis was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt reminded me of the "whisk" Buddhist carried to brush off insects to avoid harming them. Eventually the "whisk" became a symbol of a Zen Master.
Lovely poem ☺
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my Sunday Standard today
Much🌼love
This is evocative--how much space do we need between reaction and compassion? (admittedly, I'm more compassionate with things that don't actually land/crawl on me)
ReplyDeleteFunny how cartoons make critters more acceptable. I like chipmunks more than mice because of Tom and Jerry, I think.
ReplyDeleteLove crickets and their song. And it’s very lucky to have one on the hearth. Glad you showed him mercy.
ReplyDeletei would whack roaches too.
ReplyDeletevery lovely poem of a snippet in life. :)
I love the chirping of crickets. Never kill the song.
ReplyDeleteOh, oh! Sweetness, and yet I can't help also reading this as analogy about humans who have no place else to live but on the seams of our countries and towns. Then it is even more "compassion's paradox."
ReplyDeleteI'm the same way with some critters too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you let the cricket live! Makes my heart sing.
ReplyDeleteI think its our vision of what is perceived as beauty or ugliness... we apply it to all life forms, including our own.
ReplyDeleteI capture spiders and insects in my home and carefully introduce them to the great outdoors - but that definitely would not apply to a cockroach, dead it would be.
Anna :o]
Yes, a harmless enough creature, I think. I would do the same, given that they are difficult to capture and put outside.
ReplyDeleteI put such creatures outside because whatever their fate would be indoors, it would be no worse outdoors and it could be a lot better. I also go to the curb sometimes after a rain and move stranded earthworms from the gutter to my compost. Spiders and ants, I kill though, but not just because they're gross by human standards.
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