I am the king!
I’m a veteran!
For 400 million years
In the order of Blattodea.
Shedding nymph skins
Over a year of omnivorous nights.
Breaking down your decay
Into nutrients for our homes.
When you are ash and memory,
Footnotes in the soil,
I’ll still be here, one antenna raised,
Skittering from the sun.
Written for GloPoWriMo 2026 – Day 9:
try writing your own poem in the voice of an animal
“I am the king” is borrowed from The Birthday Party’s ‘Junk Yard’
‘I’m a veteran’ paraphrased from the Volcano Suns ‘Veteran’
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
1994ever 