ROMANCE Poem: Your Swarm, by Ryan Arnold

Your swarm of Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches
That you raised generations of
That you keep in a box
In your room by the bed
Sits behind the bookcase, in the darkness
You pull it out to show me
Proud mama
You put your hand in the box
letting one crawl up your arm
“I think this one is the queen” you say.
She is the size of a small mouse
She looks like Joe’s Apartment
She looks like Edward Gorey illustrating Kafka
You look down lovingly and then up at me
Quizzically, flirtatious
You offer me your hand
For the queen to crawl onto
It’s really not so bad
She walks with these slow deliberate little steps
That remind me of the Seven dwarves
Determined, dignified, almost regal
As if she know she’s a queen
She waves her antennas at me in what seems like a curtsy
I catch you looking at me
like this is all a test
To see if i am cool enough for you
I look down at the black insect face
It’s almost cute
Somehow she has a warm personality
This cockroach queen marching gingerly around my arm
Sometimes you look them in the eyes and just know
like with dogs
Although you have been talking about murdering dogs all day
In a cutesy way
“You are an extraordinary woman”
I say as we sit together
Looking over the pond at sunset
Hand in hand
Like a couple of real assholes

Author: poetryfest

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