Hornet Nest

By Andrew R. Duckworth

I have gone through canisters
Of wasp and hornet spray,
But these are resilient,
Driving the swallows
From their mud nest
And overtaking it.
They don’t seem
To be concerned
With causing me harm.
But, the moment I see
Those large stingers,
I’m taken back twenty-five years
Standing in line to enter
A theme park, when a bee
Made it’s way up my pant leg
And stung the hell out of me.
My ankle started to swell up
And I had to get a shot
At the medic station.
I know it would only take one
Of the fifty that guard around
The front door to cause damage.
Just one perceiving me as a threat
At my own home would bring upon
The entire hornet nest,
Just as it would take one
Faulty support to bring down
An entire building,
A catastrophe,
Certainly the end of my life.

Wasps hover and float,
Almost gracefully if they
Didn’t have the face of the devil.
Hornets dart, intentional
In their direction.
They move quickly.
And these at the front door,
Knocking to get in, they seem
Intent on invading, driving us
Out of our home, just as the
Swallows had to leave their
Home in fear of the swarm
Of endless stingers aimed
Towards them.

They have nested in the trees,
Nested above the entryway,
Nested above the garage,
Nested in my fearful mind,
Buzzing with their quick wings,
Their million eyes fixed,
Stingers aimed at me.
They will sting their way
To control, a ruthless
Agency hellbent on power.
They will show you who is boss
And, they will, piece by piece,
Seize control, leaving you
Helpless.

Reason is one of the most
Necessary of skills,
But the hive cannot
Be reasoned with.
They are too 
Married to death,
Attached to harm,
Intent on invasion.
How can such beasts be dealt with?
So small a thing, and yet,
So painful in method.