There are no predators in the wood
So deer run free who never could
And hunting’s forbidden
So deer don’t stay hidden
And ticks thrive in trillions
Off the hides of millions
Spreading diseases and infection
Which reaches us without detection
Until suddenly the whole community
Is looking for immunity
As four at a time
Fall prey to the lyme
We all fall sick at
The terror of the tick
Julia Geaney-Moore is a Psychology and English major. She spends her time ghost writing for blogs, writing articles online, tutoring and conducting Psychology research. She has published a poem in the poetry anthology “Lost Highways and Hidden Living Rooms” and came in 3rd place for the Betty and Stanley Sultan Short Story Award in 2013.
“Ticks are born to give you fever, whether it be Fahrenheit or Centrigade…” line from a once famous song.
Hi Micheal, intrigued by the poem and your comment, I looked up the lines you posted above.
The lyrics on several sites are
“Chicks were born to give you fever
Be it Fahrenheit or centigrade”
http://www.metrolyrics.com/fever-lyrics-peggy-lee.html
Though I think ‘ticks’ is more interesting and egaliterian.
The song was sung by a woman, Peggy Lee, and featured Captain Smith giving Pocahontas fever (whether true or not).
I watched the 1958 performance of “Fever” on You Tube. Whether Peggy Lee sang “ticks” or “chicks” the pop jazz song is still finger snapping cool.
Hi Julia, I am reading ‘The Forest World’ by Felix Salten and intend to go onto ‘Bambi’ and ‘Bambi’s Children’ as I intend to do a follow on poem to http://classicalpoets.org/change-metamorphosis-transformation-by-damian-robin/
Good to see your view. In the book, one of the main humans helps keep his idea of eco-balance by shooting stags he sees as senile. He is referred to by the animals as ‘He’ and ‘Him’, with capital ‘H’.
Hi! Thank you for your response. I will look in to reading “The Forest World” as I have not yet done so.
This is such a clever juxtaposition of light and dark – and beautifully rhymed, to boot. A pleasure to read!
Hi Julia, nice subject matter. Here is a link to a poem I wrote a while ago on the same theme. The poem is called “The Little Vector.” http://classicalpoets.org/fall-haiku-and-other-poetry-by-reid-mcgrath/.
Great to have the links to what’s been written. Revive and share what we’d forgotten or did not know was there.
Hello, thank you for your comments. I have read your poetry and particularly enjoy “The Little Vector.”