I see them in the evening echolocate after gnats as they dart and dive for micro-prey our night sky is alive with bats.
They clear away mosquitoes never seeming to alight and make it safer here below these tireless workers of the night
I am fearful for their future as we use our toxic sprays for as we spray mosquitoes we poison those who call them prey
Still the acrobatics thrill me in their nightly hunt for gnats and I hope for many years to come our nights will be alive with bats
Cori MacNaughton (July/Aug?) 1999
I wrote this while living in Largo, Florida, where we had a lot more wildlife than is typical in a heavily populated urban setting - including LOTS of bats!
I have always loved watching them in the evening and early morning hours, so I was pleased when we moved to Tennessee to discover that we have even more bats here. ;-)
I have read this poem in public on numerous occasions but this is the first time it appears in print.