Termites
Mark Strassner 1952 (Seattle, Washington)
I have an old wood door
I wish it were new
I poked at a crack
An’ my finger went through
Could only mean one thing
This one thing I knew
Termites were present
Havin’ a good chew
I cut open that crack
With my utility knife
Exposin’ a colony
Threatenin’ my door’s life
That’s what can happen
With a house made of wood
They’ll hollow it out
Until it’s no good
.............................................
Inspectin’ the premises
I found many more
Chompin’ their way
Through my hardwood floors
Into their tunnels
I injected pesticide
Hopin’ to reach
All o’ those inside
It was too late
I had been beaten
Studs and beams too
Had already been eaten
The walls collapsed
Under their own weight
My dwellin’ disintegrated
At a very fast rate
I should have tented
While I still could
Only splinters remain
Where my house once stood
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Submitted on February 27, 2021
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 43 sec read
- 3 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCB XBDB CEXE FGXG XAXX XHXH IFBF XIXI DGXG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 813 |
Words | 146 |
Stanzas | 9 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
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"Termites" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 1 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/62564/termites>.
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