The Wasp
The wasp leaves an unexpected sting
It strikes for no visible reason
and then flies away
There is no justice
as you go through
the stages of suffering
and the slow arrival of relief
You learn to avoid it
and come to expect it
The swelling disappears
But the memory holds on
You don’t think you’ll ever
trust a wasp again
and all wasps begin
to look the same
The wasp does what it wants to
It follows its instinctive urges
and to a wasp, all people
look the same
_________Colleen Redman /Poets and Storytellers United
September 9th, 2022 12:41 am
Now that is an important thought – to a wasp, all people look the same… love that close!
September 9th, 2022 12:52 am
Hmmm, I like the way you show that it’s not entirely one-sided, all the ‘others’ on each side looking the same to whichever observer. Only the reasons so different: selfishness on one hand, hurt on the other.
September 9th, 2022 6:58 am
Beeautifully done, CR. Thanks
September 9th, 2022 11:34 am
I liked the last two verses best, “all wasps begin
to look the same” could be boys or girls as well. Be careful who we trust. We have ‘mud dobbers’ here, they say they don’t sting. Maybe so but I swat or spray them anyway, I don’t like the mud homes they build in the corners of the eves.
The cat here does bite the daughter sometimes when she’s sleeping, but so do human bed mates. Got to be careful.
..
September 9th, 2022 11:37 am
Oh yes, I meant to tell you, I had a wasp or bee sting once that I was allergic to. Had a red streak up my arm, the Dr. put me on the antibiotics and the streak stopped, ended and then absorbed.
..
September 9th, 2022 12:23 pm
I like how you twist things around at the end, with all humans looking the same to wasps. But the larger question is: How do we get beyond looks to see the essence of a person?
September 9th, 2022 12:30 pm
I remember feeling indignant the first time I was stung as an innocent child on a swing. Now as a poet I can use the metaphor of wasp for all the unexpected stings and how they linger.
Yes Jim, this latest was a mud dauber but I still felt an old threat.
September 9th, 2022 12:51 pm
Very apt metaphor…
and I love this line “You don’t think you’ll ever
trust a wasp again”
September 9th, 2022 1:05 pm
Could this be the consummate metaphor? I suspect so.
September 9th, 2022 2:21 pm
What a despicable creature, that wasp. One could say that it’s just following its nature, but… if that is what its nature pushes it to do, then I want it far away from me. And I don’t promise not to defend myself from its sting.
September 10th, 2022 10:56 pm
The wasp, after all, just wants to survive, so yes, don’t ever trust a wasp again. 🙂
September 11th, 2022 11:22 am
A very apt personification. The last lines say it all.
September 11th, 2022 5:16 pm
This is thought-provoking. Because wasps are born with a sting, their nature is to sting and they actually can’t help it. They have to sting because it’s their instinct to. I enjoyed your poem 🙂
September 13th, 2022 12:40 pm
Love it! It’s a metaphor, for me, that fits the greedy ones who chose the wasp to be their figurehead leader.