Lawrence Hall, HSG
Mhall46184@aol.com

                    Draining the Blood of Humans at Twilight


                           A powerful monster //  living down
                           in the darkness growled // in pain…

                         -Beowulf, Burton Raffel translation


In the sinister dusk // they seek our blood
A ghastly enemy // of disgusting thirst
Stealing up from the swamp // and primordial mud –
Well, we stole their habitat // – mosquitoes were here first!

Suddenly it's gone:

no more house, just a mountain --


of mosquitoes there.

I.
Rains of TaiHu lake
Spillovers into Hangzhou
Dark clouds whisper of two cities
on earth's opposite sides
Eventually, people say
homesick birds look alike.
That explains why
she adores rain but not
Dynamic touches by mosquitoes.
Who could tell her the secret
when love attention from mosquito king?

II.
Why not just to kiss,
Tea in a kiss, a sweet kiss, an oooooolong kiss
Third steep to keep and keep,
Expensive swishy flower vase tea,
Delicate butterfly **** **** tea.”
Tea time, closing time,
A steep for the road
Sleep off the load
Tea night,
Tea girl cloud memories.
Rain, pain and strain
Mosquito pain,
Travel with Rain.

I live out of a shopping cart
and sleep in a broken down car
I pray for a stopping heart
to end this life where I starve.

I’m outdoors people
because I ignored the steeple
and implored what’s evil
by sporting a needle.

I try to keep my windows up
in this lonely truck
but it gets hot as ****
and sometimes they get stuck
and I have to deal with bugs
that see me sleeping snug
and start reaping blood.

I can’t feel their biting tinge
while I’m sleeping off a binge
so mosquitoes feast on the unconscious
was it God who brought this
locust plague so noxious?
They eat my sleeping body
the way they eat the rotting.

The mosquitoes torpedo
into me like a needle
a million eels
poke into my skin
which has been unsealed
so they dive in
showing their hunger is real
and they’ll win
they cover my shins
and blanket my arms
their proboscis pins
build a blood farm
built on my harm.

I open my eyes
to my insect surprise
I detest these flies
covering my size
so I shake to try
scaring them from my sty.

A plume of black
lifts from my body
it’s blood I lack
to get them off me
so I’m left to their mercy
and they continue to hurt me
attacking en masse absurdly
eating the unworthy.

I feebly swat them away
while my body decays
I’m dispersing the fray
while hurting in waves
brought by a flood
of those that **** blood
I start to feel sick
but I guess I would anyway
when the needle sticks
this is the start of everyday.

buzzing
in a sweltering
evening marsh
a swarm of mosquitoes
vexed and unsettled
waits
for a cool swoosh
from a toad

You are my citronella
When my thoughts hover like mosquitoes salivating for a bite
You say, “not today ladies”
You are my natural remedy for a challenging foe...
Myself
Keep smelling sweet with a hint of citrus
My mind depends on it

i like bugs.
they remind me
that life is important
on a small scale.
even the most frustrating
are beneficial to nature and
our ecosystem wouldn't be the same
without them.

except mosquitoes.
they can **** right off,
the ***** bloodsucking *******.