ON KILLING A COCKROACH
1) Each night like a thief she comes unseen
With
sensing feelers so long and keen
With her
defiling touch our food she spoils
As if
mocking at our kitchen care and toil.
2) Her nightly visits upset our rest
Determined to exterminate this pest
A
strategic position I cautiously took
Waiting
for her to come out of her nook.
3) My heart is full of fire for this crafty
cockroach
Sensing my presence she did not approach
A piece
of candy I kept as bait
Till she
arrives I have to wait and wait.
4) With nimble pace she crawled so fast
Her dark
brown back in a trice I lost
I threw my
broom at her though fast
She leapt like a nymph beyond
my thought.
5) Let me destroy this petty devil
So haughty, reckless and uncivil
My bosom whispered “Are you not
A
worm in past ? Have you so soon forgot ?
6) “The same spirit dwells in her and in
your heart
Give up your worthless and cruel thoughts ;
Is she a crocodile to catch you with her jaws
Is she a
tiger to tear you with her claws ?
7) Is she a viper or scorpion with a
deadly sting
A miserable
end for you to bring?
Your wretched broom how can you fling
To kill such a harmless pretty
thing?
8) Her origins too old beyond your trace
Her species
will outlive your human race ;
Nature’s
purpose you find in their existence
Be not in
haste ; use your intelligence.
9) Be not a savage who mercilessly kills
To show his
rugged strength and hunting skills ;
Neat and tidy your
surroundings maintain
No fleas will come then, you
need not complain.
10) To
kill or not to kill my mind began to swing
Like a bat in
gloom groping on wing
She slipped from my
finger tips at once
AS
I stood rattled, a philosophizing dunce.
Note :
In this poem written in a lighter vein, it is suggestive of need for
cleanliness of surroundings. Just going on a killing spree will not put an end
to our common problems.
The cockroach is one of the most
ancient species born 320 million years ago on this earth. There are nearly
4,500 kinds of species called Blattodea. They are the most adaptive creatures
to climate changes. They can survive in Arctic cold and in hottest regions as
well. They can survive without food for one month and without breathing air for
45 minutes. Some scientists say that in the event of nuclear war , the only
surviving creatures will be cockroaches.
Ref : nymph = a mythlogical spirit residing in water, and forests.
= a young immature insect with undeveloped wings.
Philosophising = think about abstract ideals
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12th April, 2017 Somaseshu Gutala