— with apologies to Robert Frost
I found an armored stinkbug, brown and still,
Suspended on the bedroom window screen,
Caught mid stride and trapped before the sill
His solitary crawl a blot oft seen.
Each morn when I awaken from my bed
And fold the slatted blind upon itself
I glimpse the shielded pest and feel a dread
To think is he asleep or is he dead?
What business had that bug inside my home
His ling’ring wake a loathsome perfume scent
A weapon to protect when he did roam
But now he’s stuck in this environment.
When spring arrives whate’er his fate will be
A gentle window breeze might set him free.
Wingless Dreamer- Poems Inspired by Robert Frost 2021
Ed. By Ruchi Acharya
Elise Chadwick 