it was a june bug
in july
i had a conversation with
as lightening cracked
open a humid Bowling Green sky
when i went
on to ask him why?
why? - he beat himself so - against
a bulb, frosted, that
held no feeling
for him, no feeling for his try
but i could see he had
already fallen
already died
died, an-ni-hil-ated in a self lost to unyielding
obsession...a true soul lie
but the night
calmed itself down, way down - and i left
Bowling Green, i left the you (in i)
and a june bug -
dead - to the obsessions of july
bkmackenzie
copyrighted 2011
this one is quite old but is my favorite Bug Poem - grew up with several June Bugs....buzzing
posted for the imaginary garden with real toads - bugs
how many have lost there soul to similar obsessions...very nice....
ReplyDeleteso true the unyielding obsession...
ReplyDeleteVery nice, hits home.
Dear bkm: "A June Bug In July"
ReplyDeleteheld no feeling
no feeling for his try
The dictionary definitions and abbreviations sublines give a rich air of text-ural epic to your fine poem!
This is incredibly beautiful. A perfect poem. I so love it!
ReplyDeletelove how fun and random this it.
ReplyDeleteit has its own drum beat.
I'll try again...lost my comment.
ReplyDeleteThe obsession topic fits well here....and this is such a summer poem! Feel the heat and the humidity.
Lovely.
Lady Nyo
"i left the you (in i)" wow, what an amazing line.. love it
ReplyDeleteVery nice. We poets are like that...traditionally out of step with the mainstream--June bugs in July!
ReplyDeletean-ni-hil-ated in a self lost to unyielding
ReplyDeleteobsession...
Slicing use of metaphor throughout and heartbreaking. Thank you.
Oh! Love the title, the image, the words! So happy you joined us and presented yet another example of the brilliance that comes at the hand of your pen!Thanks so much for linking up with us...YOU ROCK :)
ReplyDeleteThe kind of topic that usually fall flat to me. This is written in a way it did not. Very nice job on this.
ReplyDeleteBarbara, this metaphor is incredible. You did such a good job with the subtle rhyming and flow of the verse. Oh the ways we self-destruct.
ReplyDeleteNice write, makes one think a great deal throughout about those who willingly get burned. Thanks for sharing tonight!
ReplyDeleteAs summer deepens, your poetry gets richer and closer to the flame; amazing the way you edge into your metaphors and here as was said before use metaphor, image and subtext to layer your meanings and say so much more than the words you write. It's as though we're seeing it in several languages at once. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteand July will also be over, but while here is let it it be yours
ReplyDeleteThat Bowling green sky... a close friend of mine... fixating...
ReplyDeleteA beautiful poem, poignant, so sad, yet true. It reminds me of the book title, "It was on fire when he lay down on it", which referred to a burning mattress. Our questions involve death wishes, instinct, mental illness ... but always more questions.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteTypos! Once again:
ReplyDeleteYour use of rhyme in this is outstanding, somehow mimicking the bash of the bug, repetitive, obsessive, but drawn to a beauty, a light, a compulsion he can neither master nor refuse. Been there, done that, and appreciate the elegant way you've served it up here for reflection.
love the
ReplyDeletean-ni-hil-ated in a self lost to unyielding
obsession.
great you're linking with d'Verse BKM....
great to know ya my friend
Very nice...I always your words when I come here :)
ReplyDelete"held no feeling
ReplyDeletefor him, no feeling for his try"...This is so very moving, it made me cry.
A great use of metaphors! You dress the english language so well here!I found joy in the sadness of this poem.
ReplyDelete"...i left the you (in i)
ReplyDeleteand a june bug -
dead - to the obsessions of july" ~~
Loved that first line; it packs a punch in such a simple way.
And obsessing over metaphorical June bugs in July, I appreciate how you put this self-induced pain is such beautiful terms.
Well, that's what obsessions DO...a VERY well-told story. YUP!
ReplyDeleteI paused over... to the obsessions of July. I have so many memories of summertime ... things that happened -good and bad - that I think cold only have happened in the heat and lazy days of July... It does set a mood, a feeling. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteI love a poem that takes a simple natural action, the obsessive attraction of an insect to a lightbulb, and wraps a human feeling or fault within it. Beautifully done. I'm sure I'll come back this poem again. Thank you.
ReplyDeletewow, I am glad you left your obsession before dying like the bug - reminds me of the def of insanity (doing same thing over and over expecting different results...)
ReplyDeleteI think I've been that June bug more than once!
ReplyDeleteOh, that last stanza is really fantastic, everything about it. I know Bowling Green. I have family in Scottsville and Louisville :)
ReplyDeleteTruly an obsession into oblivion... undying yet only to die. Beuatifully shared thoughts.
ReplyDeleteA very nicely penned poem, Barb.
ReplyDeletePamela
Nice... two subjects usually felt negatively and I leave feeling the gentle touch of your writing. :)
ReplyDeleteI am still in awe of this obsession. You may not know, when you fall its prey and when it devours you.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful.
Sometimes all it takes is the smallest notice. thanks for noticing and commenting on a bug's life.
ReplyDeleteA truly remarkable poem. I found this as illuminating as bug trap on a dark evening. A little glimmer of intensity amid the all enveloping gloom. Well crafted!
ReplyDeleteOh! I visited you after such a long long time! Almost a year and read this touching poem :) :) I still remember the fairytale I read for the first time here :) I admire :)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Ah yes... the June bug is a perfect metaphor for our sometimes irrational persistence...
ReplyDeleteA lot of powerful emotion here. Good poem.
ReplyDeleteyou take something from nature and weave a psychological net...very well done bk
ReplyDeletemarvelously told. I can still picture the little guy fruitlessly banging his head on the bulb.... a very insightful piece.
ReplyDeleteMeaningful and your words are wonderfully woven..as always. // Peter.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great observation. Lovely...
ReplyDeleteHmm. Perhaps I read too much in, but the jingoism of July 4th seems to be one of the "obsessions of July" most often in evidence these past few Support-the-Troops-Summers...
ReplyDeleteI love the rhythm and sound of this piece read out loud. It gave it almost a sense of innocence at observing a senseless death. I also really like how it can be read as a story of obsessive love or as Charles pointed out above, senseless devotion to anything that doesn't give a damn about you.
ReplyDeleteI love the whole idea of it, June Bug in July!!! Somehow sad, and at the same time, a little bit funny in a dark way.
ReplyDeleteWhat a metaphor for senseless death or obsession!
ReplyDeleteI love a poem that uses its body to show what it says. It's wonderful how your word choices and structuring let us hear the buzzing, how the repetition show us what the subject does, the length and ending of a trying... not quite meant to be.
ReplyDeleteThis is stellar.... (also love to read the comments from all the poets of my past)... the metaphor is perfect
ReplyDeleteI’ve never come across a June bug, unless we have a different name of it over here, and I am fascinated by all kinds of insects so I’ll have to look it up. I love the imagery in the lines:
ReplyDelete‘as lightening cracked
open a humid Bowling Green sky’.
This poem does move around like a bug bashing against a light bulb, and it sounds great. Really good.
ReplyDelete