Mr. Africa Poetry Lounge!
[Kills bugs dead.]
Kills bugs dead. Redundancy is syntactical overkill. A pin-prick of peace at the end of the tunnel of
a nightmare night in a roach motel. Their noise infects the dream. In black kitchens they foul the
food, walk on our bodies as we sleep over oceans of pirate flags. Skull and crossbones, they crunch
like candy. When we die they will eat us, unless we kill them first. Invest in better mousetraps. Take
no prisoners on board ship, to rock the boat, to violate our beds with pestilence. We dream the
dream of extirpation. Wipe out a species, with God at our side. Annihilate the insects. Sterilize the
filthy vermin.
Written by Harryette Mullen
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