Ode to a Gnat

Oh gnat, I hate you

with a perfect hate

a hate I wish were lovingkindness

so I’ll write an ode instead.

 

The gnat

buzzes in my ears, hovers around my face, lands on my skin

and I have come to see

that this is the expression of the gnat’s love for me.

 

Oh gnat, why must you torment me so?

Would that you were burning down below!

But the gnat’s love goes unrequited

Could I return it, he’d be so delighted

 

So instead, he speaks the only way he can:

Buzzing in my ears, he says: “I LOVE YOU!

I LOVE YOU! Did you hear me? I LOVE YOU!”

Buzzing in my face, gazing into my green eyes,

looking woefully at my zipped tight lips,

thinking maybe being swept up my nostril with my breath

is a good last attempt for unity

 

But the most telling sign

a true Romeo to his beloved Juliet,

or Ophelia drowning in her pond,

he sees my eyeball, swimming in its

glorious pool of mucus-y eyeball goo,

and with one last “I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!”

he dives in,

to die in glorious union

with his beloved.

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