Slum Summer

a poem by Christuraj Alex

Wasps buzz, sting, fly off
Eyelids swell like farm-fresh Dates
Flies invade the face
Ants tickle, trickle, prickle
Nose and lips look frozen-fruits

Mosquito-marching
Bugs mate under warm pillows
Crickets, cockroaches
Tour on physique sleeping deep
Rose chafers enter the nose

Cutworms curl coolly
Earwigs settle under sheets
Millipedes get in costumes
Make matters messy
Ticks cling on heads from nowhere

(A Buggy Tanka)