Milkweed butterfly,
iconic pollinator.
Golden, bold, and black.
Eastern migrant,
Canada to Mexico,
A thousand miles back.
Western wanderer,
winters in California.
Recalls its way north.
Milkweed butterfly,
iconic pollinator.
Golden, bold, and black.
oh haste brumal mist that twilight has kissed
on the hollyhocks, meadow-born
sweet tears resurrected on petals neglected
collected 'midst early morn …
the dew-christened flow’rs parading the hours
croon hope to the unblemished hearts
then rises the moon while it saunters to swoon
and the ballet of eventide starts …
tall grasses that thrive with new life, come alive
with a shimmer of luminous lights
a slow-spinning dance of the glowing romance
that July has thus gifted its nights …
a heavens' breast lighted by stars, unrequited
sets stage on the vault, high above -
night's magic gone viral, as fireflies spiral ...
in a whimsical waltz ... of love.
~ POETRY AGAINST POVERTY ~
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with Gemini AI / Meta AI software )
Hot sun, blazing down
Skeeters from slew chew me up.
Musty Florida.
Of nectar, I never sing.
I only beat my wings.
As long as I'm alive,
I gather nectar for the hive.
I toil for a bountiful nectar crop.
I work until I drop.
So the colony will thrive,
I do it for the hive.
Lo, I hear something strange.
My brain begins to change.
It is a flower's voice.
She tells me I have choice.
I never lived until
I discovered I have free will.
Now, in nectar, I rejoice,
knowing I have choice.
Dear little fly,
You didn't have to die,
But you've made a crucial mistake.
You said that you'll come over.
Then you flew over my sofa
And landed next to my chocolate cake.
Your two small wings
In the air it sings,
Though it's annoying in my ear.
And to no one's surprise,
Your untimely demise
Will become your very worst fear.
When I finally saw you,
I only yelled, "SHOO!"
You thought you had more lives than a cat.
But you landed on the wall
And had a great fall;
For my Giant Fly Swatter went SPLAT!
You just sealed your doom.
And now, with my broom,
You were swept up and laid to rest.
In the garbage you go,
Because you're too slow:
Good-bye, you miserable pest!
The Mosquito Squad has been zapped, swatted,
And completely obliterated.
Because they learned the hard way
That they can dish it, but they sure can't take it.
They've planned numerous strategies
And tried every trick in the book;
But everything has backfired
And their goose was already cooked.
Every summer was the same mission:
Find a sexy body and eat it.
It didn't matter if it was a booty, an arm, or a leg:
Alas, the Mosquito Squad has been defeated.
"That's the last straw!" the Squad Leader yelled,
With steam coming out of his ears.
"You've failed me one too many times!
I don't want to see your crocodile tears!
You can't even follow a direct order
And always fall flat on the floor.
Now get out of my sight, you knuckleheads!
The Mosquito Squad is no more!"
The crowd began singing
As the mosquitoes disappear in the sky,
"NA NA NA NA, NA NA NA NA,
HEY HEY HEY! GOOD-BYE!"
The male Hine’s Emerald patrols his cattail fen
low through sedge and seepage
his compound eyes pluck gnats from the air
two yellow bars flash along his thorax
hindwings catch the morning
Chimanimani Mountain mist beads over quartz
the female Rock Threadtail
six black feet braced on the edge
her wing tilted toward the sun
eyes—black
He misses the gnat
darts, veers, halts midair, pivots
his ommatidia fixed on her raised wing
smitten, his heading shifts
the female Rock Threadtail rests above her stream
=======
With blurred vision in my one eye,
on this cold winter afternoon
I trace the course of a blue-black fly
in my small kitchen. Pretty soon
my boredom gets the best of me.
Once I eat a macaroon
I rise to make some jasmine tea
and wonder why I allow this bug
(who does not share my philosophy)
to sit there resting on my mug.
I do not know what's in his head,
but think he must be awfully smug,
so I get up and leave. Instead
of drinking tea I go to bed.
Within the crowded dark,
She dreams of a golden bloom.
Weaves a swift, geometric loop,
Then traces right, a graceful swoop,
To banish gloom. from the room.
And share a silent spark.
tiny worm beneath
the soil tunneling spirals
mix dampening soil
~
all accountable
dirt close to being mud worms
ready for fish yah!
9/2/26
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2026©
Giant owls
Flying over streets
Giant fowls
Feathers falling like sheets
Back on the ground
We ride on insects
They make not a sound
Keeping us safe from the flying objects
There he was, lined up right in my sights
Nothing in my way, either left or right
Me, a Mexican Tarantula at the point of attack
My target, Donald Trump, who’d make a juicy snack
My mission approved by President Sheinbaum, no less
For me to destroy this irrational pest
Could I bring myself to gobble him down?
~ Find me buried on the White House lawn
bitty lit busy
ants stronger than cinder
-block busy moving
~
following the trail
beaten path busy workers
laymen in the grass
8/27/26
written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2026©
insecticides sprayed
crushed, smashed, thrashed, hard boot-heel-stamped ~
still they resurrect
young grasshoppers dance
persuaded by the high sun
that prospers these bones
even through this birthing fall
when shall they be liable
Insect Categories
Definition | What is Insect in Poetry?
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.
Related Poetry Forms
tick, vermin, pest, mite, bee, fly, louse, arachnid, butterfly, gnat, dragonfly, moth, grasshopper, spider, cockroach, termite, ant, mosquito, beetle, flea, fruit fly, aphid, ladybug, cootie, bumblebee, bedbug, arthropod, hornet, daddy longlegs, praying mantis, yellowjacket,