Japanese Beetles



Don’t be fooled, they carry 
nothing of the Orient’s allure.
These voracious beetles,
if they had the appetite, 
might easily bring down 
the loftiest sequoia.

Depraved sexual deviants,
they deflower helpless roses
in broad daylight; and, like
Medieval artisans of yore
turn hardy zinnias into
empty-ribbed cathedral windows.

Their shells are hard like 
scarabs, but charmless,
slicked with an iridescence
cheap and tacky like carnival glass.
Eager to reproduce their kind, 
they feed and copulate 
at the same time.

Sex has never lost its need
with any creature on this planet, 
least of all these pesky beetles, 
so a potent sex attractant does
the job. And even in the heat 
of destructive flames, they go
at it mindlessly one last time.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2025



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Date: 7/3/2025 4:00:00 PM
You’ve described these insects very well, Maurice! I remember these from when I was a kid and everyone was upset by how quickly they could chew up the leaves of trees and bushes. I haven’t heard anything about them in years, but I assume they are still doing their destructive business…
Login to Reply
Rigoler Avatar
Maurice Rigoler
Date: 7/3/2025 6:42:00 PM
You're, right, Ilene, I haven;'t seen a Japanese beetle since ky boyhood days? I'm not complaining, mind you. But when they were in force (and great numbers) they were every gardener's nightmare! Thanks for stopping by. / Maurice
Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter