Insects with Creeping Thistle and Borage by Jan van
Kessel the Elder, 1654
|
Some
people are fascinated by insects and other creatures commonly thought of as
bugs. Some people hate them, despite the fact that many are important to the
diets of many kinds of birds. Of course, we don’t like it when a tick or
mosquito takes a nip from our blood! Jenene Ravesloot and I have each written
roach poems:
Elegy for a Roach
Her exoskeleton cracked
under the chef’s boot.
Now antennae rest on the
floor like pieces of
cut thread.
She was carrying
forty-one encased eggs when
he chased her down—if
only she hadn’t been
burdened by that.
Her four vestigial wings,
three pairs of spiny
legs, and small head have
been severed. Her
compound eyes no longer
see a mosaic world.
She can’t draw air
through the holes in her side.
She can’t feel anything.
The ceiling light blinks.
~ Jenene Ravesloot
(First published in The
Miscreant)
Dance
If
you don’t get up
in
the night
how
will you know
how
many cockroaches
have
come to dance
on
the kitchen floor?
How
will you learn
whether
they prefer
an
airy light waltz
or
the beat of a polka
and
how many drums
are
in their band?
Don’t
you wonder
if
they dance till dawn
to
heavy metal?
Do
they form squares,
one
roach calling
Bow
to your partner?
Do
they slip into the shadows,
one
couple at a time
~
Wilda Morris
Check
out some interesting insect poems here: https://interestingliterature.com/2017/05/10/10-of-the-best-poems-about-insects/
The March
Challenge:
The
March Challenge is to submit a poem featuring an insect or other creature
commonly thought of as a bug (It does not have to be about roaches). It may be
free verse or formal. The insect may be used metaphorically or as an example to
further an argument (as in John Donne’s poem, “The Flea.” Your poem may include
some scientific vocabulary and concepts, as does Ravesloot’s poem, or be
whimsical (which is the effect I was going for in “Dance”).
Title
your poem unless it is a form that does not use titles. If you use a form,
please identify the form when you submit your poem. Single-space and don’t use
lines that are overly long (because the blog format doesn’t accommodate long
lines). Read previous poems on the blog to see what line lengths can be
accommodated.
You
may submit a published poem if you retain
copyright, but please include publication data. This applies to poems
published in books, journals, newspapers, or on the Internet.
The
deadline is March 15. Poems submitted after the deadline
will not be considered. There is no charge to enter, so there are no monetary
rewards; however winners are published on this blog. Please do not stray too
far from “family-friendly” language (some children read this blog). No
simultaneous submissions, please. You should know by the end of the month
whether or not your poem will be published on this blog. Decision of the judge
or judges is final.
The
poet retains copyright on each poem. If a previously unpublished poem wins and
is published elsewhere later, please give credit to this blog.
How to
Submit Your Poem:
Send one poem only to wildamorris[at]ameritech[dot]net (substitute the @ sign for “at” and a . for “dot”). Put “March Poetry Challenge Submission” in the subject line of your email. Include a brief bio that can be printed with your poem if you are a winner this month. Please put your name and bio under the poem in your email.
Send one poem only to wildamorris[at]ameritech[dot]net (substitute the @ sign for “at” and a . for “dot”). Put “March Poetry Challenge Submission” in the subject line of your email. Include a brief bio that can be printed with your poem if you are a winner this month. Please put your name and bio under the poem in your email.
Submission
of a poem gives permission for the poem to be posted on the blog if it is a
winner, so be sure that you put your name (exactly as you would like it to
appear if you do win) at the end of
the poem.
Poems
may be pasted into an email or sent as an attachment (no pdf files, please). Please do not indent the poem or center it
on the page. It helps if you submit
the poem in the format used on the blog (Title and poem left-justified;
title in bold (not all in capital letters); your name at the bottom of the
poem). Also, please do not use multiple spaces instead of commas in the middle
of lines. I have no problem with poets using that technique (I sometimes do it
myself). However I have difficulty getting the blog to accept and maintain
extra spaces.
Poems
shorter than 40 lines are generally preferred but longer poems will be
considered.
Bio: Jenene Ravesloot
is a member of the Poets’ Club of Chicago, Poets & Patrons and the Illinois
State Poetry Society. She has led numerous poetry workshops for poetry groups
and various Chicago educational institutions. Her poetry has been published in the
Chicago Quarterly Review, after hours, THIS Literary Magazine and other poetry journals in print and
online. She has published several books of poetry.
© Wilda Morris