Lyme Family
(listen to the poem, read by the author)
Sneaky little creature,
microscopic, legless nomad.
He’s a hitchhiker.
Promiscuous too, he’ll ride
with anyone passing
who’s warm to him.
Prefers to travel the rivers
of hot blood, often seen
in the company of
his friend, Mr. Tick.
He didn’t wait for an invite,
just moved right in,
took up residence in my
modest house of bones.
Brought his whole family
including scruffy children
schooled in mischief.
I ordered the thieves deported.
Some wimpy ones left,
the rest claimed squatter’s rights.
Set up camp and scouted
more territory, began to raise
families. They love to hang out
in old dilapidated joints,
squeaky places where knees
and hips are challenged.
They keep late hours, sometimes
dance when I’m trying to sleep.
Get rowdy and shake the timbers.
Skirmish after skirmish
tells me I’m fighting
a war of attrition, repeated battles
with a company of terrorists.
They use guerilla tactics,
lob mortars, stage a targeted attack
where defenses are weak,
then run and hide to regroup.
It promises to be a long conflict.
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About the Author
Wesley Sims has published three chapbooks of poetry: When Night Comes, Finishing Line Press, Georgetown, Kentucky, 2013; Taste of Change, Iris Press, Oak Ridge, TN, 2019; and A Pocketful of Little Poems, Amazon, 2020. His work has appeared in Artemis Journal, Bewildering Stories, Connecticut Review, G.W. Review, Liquid Imagination, Pine Mountain Sand and Gravel, Plum Tree Tavern, Novelty Magazine, Poem, Poetry Quarterly, Time of Singing, The South Carolina Review, and others. He lost hearing completely in one ear and has severe hearing loss in the other.