Locusts

Hatching hoppers,
neon newbies,
groom themselves on grass.
Wings of ultrasound
release the scent
of moving on–
pheromoaning.

One small swarm
hungry, groaning,
ascend the air like chopsticks
beating the clay bowl
of a summer day.
Goodtimers,
eating whichever way
the wind blows them.

Shy among farms,
swarms join arms,
a plague doesn’t spread
instead it grows,
a sprinkler with the widest hose.

Food thinned, they descend.
The roar of a billion wings in victory.
The spire of sticks without leaves,
and the weeping of a desert wind.

All creatures great and small welcome tonight at d’Verse. Come creep and crawl through some great poems with us.

Chromolithograph from 1890 of a locust swarm

35 responses to “Locusts”

msjadeli

I’ve seen those critters in the yard and didn’t know what they were. Only a few at a time, thankfully. Never hope to see more than a few at a time.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  It’s strange how they can wait for a year to seems “right” to hatch. Closest thing to a plague I’ve ever seen.
  
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Dora

K.,
Powerfully written. That last stanza was especially potent with the ravages of their visit.
pax,
dora

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you kindly, Dora. Hard hit here this year. You can still hear some of them in the evenings.
  
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John

Wonderful words. ❤️

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Very kind, John. Thank you.
  
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abigfatcanofworms

Oh this is fabulous! “Pheromoaning” made me giggle. And I love “chopsticks beating the clay bowl of a summer day”. So perfect!! And the last two lines are brilliant! Just wonderfully evocative.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Many thanks, Worms. I may have a love of writing about insects.
  
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Gillena Cox

Ah yes. I have never seen this but reaf about them and i think you captured their events so well

Much💖love

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you, Gullena. This year was my first encounter in person. Couldn’t even go outside.
  
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lifelessons

A beautiful poem. “ascend the air like chopsticks
beating the clay bowl” a masterful simile. And you
found an artful and perfect illustration to accompany it.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you kindly. These creatures amaze me.
  
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Ingrid

I love all the wordplay here, K. especially the opening lines, and the word ‘pheromoaning.’ The final stanza is beautifully lyrical!

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you, Ingrid. This insect amazes me.
  
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  1. Ingrid
    
    The more of these poems I read, the more interested I am becoming in all insects!
    
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  2. K.Hartless
    
    True for me as well. There is a whole other world there, affected by us as we are affected by them.
    
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fireblossom32

I can’t hear about locusts without thinking of the movie “Days of Heaven.” I really enjoyed your poem!

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johnlmalone

Worms on earthworms, you on locusts: what is going on here? a wild ride of images; my eyes settled on the stanza with chopsticks —

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Sunra Rainz

Fabulous, K.Hartless. So many good lines:

“neon newbies”
“wings of ultrasound”
“pheromoaning”
“weeping of a desert wind” – wonderful last line to finish on.

the whole image of them ascending into the air like chopsticks and beating the clay bowl of a summer day – so evocative! 🙂

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you, Sunra. I’m so pleased you enjoyed this piece. As soon as I saw the prompt, I knew this insect was getting my attention.
  
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  1. Sunra Rainz
    
    Yes, they’ve got a kind of Pandora’s Box biblical vibe, haven’t they? 😄 They also provide food for a lot of creatures so they can’t be all bad 😊
    
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  2. K.Hartless
    
    Yes, thank you for commenting, Sunra. I think they have a wicked way when in high numbers, sort of like a few other species I know. 😂
    
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rothpoetry

A great take on the Grasshopper! That photo looks like a Roman Orgy!! :>)

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Ha! Thank you, Dwight. They were abundant here this spring and creepy.
  
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  1. rothpoetry
    
    I saw a couple of grasshoppers here recently. We don’t get to many.
    
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  2. K.Hartless
    
    I enjoy the crickets here, but Locusts are something else. Their flight is so impressive.
    
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lynn__

Hope they stay away from our farm!

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1. K.Hartless
  
  🤞🏻 Yes, indeed.
  
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Björn Rudberg (brudberg)

It is so well-known and really a plague when they are so many… i have never seen them, but just the name locusts sound a lot like the plague.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  They are one of those examples of collective strength va individual weakness
  
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anotherkatewilson

I love that description “chopsticks beating against the clay bowl of a summer day” – wonderful description of both the insect and a dry summer day,

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Thank you, Kate. Closed my eyes and listened to a recording of their flight; that is what I saw.
  
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Time Traveler of Life

Let us hope we are swarmed with locusts, it appears we have had everything else during this pandamic.

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1. K.Hartless
  
  Indeed. When it rains insects it pours. 🤣
  
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Time Traveler of Life

Actually I meant to say we are NOT swarmed with locusts.

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