Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Pitfalls



image from pinterest.com

 Pitfalls


“Good things do not come easily, for the road is

lined with pitfalls.”--Desi Arnaz.


I am a demon and a god.

I compress all the joys of this world

into a thousand days.

I am a digger and a devourer.

I spend 98% of my life as a larva,

and a few days as an adult; go figure.

I am an antlion.


For most of my three year life span

I relish being a ravenous monster.

I have a rough rippled protective shell,

like a nightmare mini-armadillo.

I have huge jaws like a spider.

I savor a delicious vampire state.


I dig a pit in the sand,

3 inches across, and 3 inches deep.

and I squat like a patient ghoul

at the bottom of it.

I can go without food for days

while awaiting my prey.

I am very in tune with vibrations,

and I sense when a victim is near.


It’s mostly ants who stumble into my pit,

and they tumble down

toward my quivering mandibles.

Some of them struggle,

but my sand engineering defeats them,

and the sides cave in.

When in my grasp,

I inject venom to paralyze them.

I inject enzymes that turn flesh to liquid,

so that I can suck the entire essence 

out of my captives, leaving only

an empty dry shell, which I discard.


I must admit I fully endorse

the malicious rush of being

a powerful predator.

I have no enemies.

I reign supreme.


After many satisfying years

as an actual demon,

I realize I’ve had my fill.

So I spin a marvelous cocoon,

and partake of a beautiful slumber,

dreaming of my hundreds of kills,

the thrill of gluttony, and the fervent

pleasures of a former succubus.


When I awake, I am peeling back

my wrappings, as I emerge

as a golden antgod,

with a long muscular thorax,

and four gorgeous gossamer wings.

I experience the thrill of flight

and the rush of rutting hormones,

one atop the other


Suddenly I am keenly aware of two things.

I have a month to live,

and I am as horny 

as a three-peckered goat.

To my surprise, as I flit off on my 

lotharian quest, I find ladies everywhere.

I find myself to be sexually insatiable,

procreating like a pulsating pile driver.

Just call me Larry Lust,

and hide all your daughters.


On the 25th day, I am completely exhausted,

and I spiral to the ground like a loose leaf,

or a wounded helicopter, and

there I lie in a grateful heap,

fully ready to let my inexorable spirit

morph into fairy dust.

Glenn Buttkus


Posted over at d'Verse Poet's Pub

12 comments:

Gillena Cox said...

Wow! Excellent. You poem fits nicely content and delivery into a T&T spoken word Carnival genre called Robber Talk which is performed by a vintage Carnival character caller The Robber.
I felt at home reading this poem

Much💖love

JadeLi said...

We have antlions around here but have only seen the depressions in the sand. Never saw one before they are ugly little beasties! I love the way you describe their demonic qualities. So interesting 98% of their lives are in the larval stage. Never even considered they were larvae and that their is a flying adult stage that goes sex crazed at the end. Am guessing the females live a few days longer to lay the eggs before dying. Love this ending (to the poem and to the bug):
"here I lie in a grateful heap,
fully ready to let my inexorable spirit
morph into fairy d"

judydykstrabrown.com said...

Who would have thought I would find reading about an ant lion so interesting and enjoyable? Thanks, Glenn. And, I'm wondering how you settled on this unlikely insect as your topic? Very well done.

Ingrid said...

That is quite a creature, and quite a life:

'I must admit I fully endorse

the malicious rush of being

a powerful predator.

I have no enemies.

I reign supreme.'

This could easily be describing certain humans...

Jane Dougherty said...

If all the billions of tiny critters in the world think so deeply, we ought to be worried!

Truedessa said...

That was a captivating read. I admire your wordsmithing. A wonderful character sketch of this creature.

Oh sad that he is dreaming of his many kills.

Selma said...

Wow. You gave this little creature an audience. Wow. Wouldn't have heard of him if it wasn't for you. He reigns supreme. I see why. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

This is utterly wonderful, Glenn. The relish of being a demon to the insatiable lust of its reborn self, whilst having dreams of being a succubus in between - hilarious! Then falling to the ground like a leaf, sated...<3

Sunra Rainz said...

Not sure why my last comment posted as Anonymous - I'm Sunra Rainz.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

"I squad like a patient ghoul" and
"Just call me Larry Lust,
and hide all your daughters."
AMAZING lines throughout. The above are my favorite! You've really done a number on this creepie crawlie!

brudberg said...

I have only seen the pits but they are really terrifying beasts, and what a feat of engineering. The author Tove Jansson (who wrote about Moomin) has an antlion as a menacing monster in one of her books.

Poetry for Healing said...

I really enjoyed reading this Glenn and then tonight I was listening to you read it. It was so entertaining and I found myself smiling and laughing along with the other guys participating in OLN. One day I will do my best to make that 3pm time slot and join you all. Tough scheduling unfortunately.