Ode to the Cockroach
Jessica Garcia
O Beautiful Pestilence
Despoiler of peace and quiet,
Your unseen presence causes fear and chaos.
Scattering, scuttling across countertops,
Twitching antennae detecting delicacies left by generous hosts.
You hold court over the kitchen.
Fleeing that “Shoe from the Sky”, and
The death knell of Raid© . . .
Nothing can stop you.
Not the shrieks of distressed maidens,
Nor even nuclear winter.
How is it that you, such a small
And seemingly insignificant insect
Has managed to outlive much larger Masters of Terror?