Fine
Very fine
Like a worm
Shirt cotton threads pull
And fray
Bare skin
Pale skin finally
Appears through the gasps
Through the holes
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©
LOVE has dug deep
Deep sea diving into depth
Finding all sorts of rubbish
Places where knowledge is inept
After many eons, here we are
At the door of the gap
On a throne of lapis lazuli
Is a WORM covered in jasmine sap
Who opened that door
The program was safe and secure
Ah yes that kind of creature
Has always been, a fisherman's lure
Entering in at the open mouth
And replicating self until TRUTH is smothered
Possessing trusting windows and and doors
Until the full board is locked down and mothered
You can't be irritated about the worm
When desire brought the mind to wander
Instead of counting blessings and running the race
The illusion brought the heart to a fonder
...gaze at the stars
Written by Trudy Schrader on 08-28-2026
Now I will never be dirt free
You've covered me head to toe
It's in my hair and in my mouth
Stuck like gum in the roots of my hair
A sour taste like a lemon or a not-yet-ripe strawberry
No matter how much I bathe
You’ve done the irreversible
The unforgivable
I am treated like a garden bed
Used in the spring and neglected in the winter
You use me to grow new things
like roses and fruits and berries
I hope everything you grow wilts rots away like the maggots that fill your sick mind and sick heart
You are an earth worm, but I am not your filth to consume
No matter how much you change
Now I will never be dirt free
A worm's eye view never seems to be a problem
for those who prefer not to be perceived.
I inch along the ground,
cowering in the light
and moistening myself in hallowed raindrops.
The sky clouding over is my perfect afternoon.
Gentle breezes and summer downpours
are the creatures' form of relaxation,
while children cover themselves in the safety of concrete barriers,
These perfectly straight lawns
bordered by paved expanses
are insurmountable obstacles; guaranteed death.
After the rain,
childlike giants scoop us up
and force us to succumb to concentrated beams of sunlight
filtered through magnifying glasses.
A worm that floated in a brook
spied a fish, shivered and shook,
asked himself, "Who needs
a fisherman and his evil deeds?",
and quietly slipped off his hook.
O my goodness me ! Seriously !
I'm not going to eat that worm ~
I'm a born again vegetarian !
AP: 1st place 2026
Listen, worm, to my rhyme
as you lie there biding time,
grinning there so sweetly,
knowing you will eat me.
Know that one day, you'll die too,
and a smaller thing will eat you.
Earth worm roves the soil.
He dives into the tilled loam
as I lumber by.
.
yet u think
'to delirious
thuh
how picturesque
'stead yourn head
bow'd
up shift
u
yourn jib
'to thuh tranquil
whilst
u fruit
thuh
end i all'up
in'nit
fix'd
The grub is a fraud, let’s be honest and clear,
A beetle in diapers that gardeners fear.
He’s C-shaped and creamy, a squishy delight,
With a big orange head and a monster-sized bite.
He lives in the dirt, just a subterranean guest,
Turning your lawn into one giant mess.
He wakes in the summer, a tiny white speck,
By autumn he’s thick with a bull-sized neck.
When winter arrives with its icy-cold breath,
He tunnels down deep to avoid certain death,
Then returns in the spring for a root-heavy lunch,
Giving your fescue a satisfying crunch.
He treats your backyard like a five-star buffet,
Till the grass turns to brown and the green fades away.
But his life isn't always a feast in the shade,
The skunk digs a hole for a protein-packed snack,
And the robin descends for a mid-morning thwack.
If he avoids the beaks and the sharp, furry claw,
The Milky Spore bacteria might lock up his jaw.
Or nematodes find him—a microscopic crew—
To turn his insides into biological stew.
But if he survives every chemical spray,
He grows a hard shell and just flies far away.
Ole Fat Robin bops
He jumps across the mown lawn
Gotcha! A plump worm
Winner 4th place: Brian Strand-1452 You Choose contest (3/18/26)
In the beginning, before the ark,
Creating the world in the dark,
Arising, God said,
"Too early for bed"
And fashioned the worm and the lark.
Snuggle down and cuddle up
For the nights are drawing in.
Listen! Worms are burrowing
Deep down to below the frost line
To the black damp
Sweet damp Kingdom of the earthworm.
Six feet under
In subterranean chambers,
These humble sinkers,
Tunnel to the hum and pulse
Of the seasons.
Dragging and pulling,
Loaming and ploughing
A mosh of decaying debris down
Beneath the overburden,
Into the clag and quiet crush
Of the dark soil.
Worms, the intestines of the earth
In endless toil turn the world
Over, and over, and over.
In the cosy of my blanket
I hug my cup of tea,
And I look out above and beyond me
Up to the autumnal skies.
A twilight of stars
Flung far across the deepening violet,
Twinkle old light.
I ponder the nebula -
Neighbouring planets with their own histories,
And stories of water.
What became of their worms?
Venus worms, Mars worms,
Jupiter and Saturn worms -
What fate awaits the Earth worms?
Our dormant earthworms
Sleeping cold tight,
Deep down, away from the light.
Earthworms coiled spherical
In their protective sheen of dew,
Patiently waiting springs anew.
Some have better things to do,
before the crack of morn,
than digging for earthworms
in the dew-soaked dawn,
but no not me, you see,
as, the longer I looked
for the creepy-crawlies,
the more I was hooked.
'Why that time of day?', ask you may,
well, as my daily wish, is a tasty breakfast dish,
I had heard, somewhat like the bird,
the early worm catches the fish.
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