Boreegard Ruminates On Mother Nature

         Attack of the Yellow Hornets
                (Der Nacht Flieger)

Though our storm windows are guaranteed to be
Impenetrable to outside influences,
A nightly visitation of European hornets
Began making its way into my bedroom last week.

Larger than their white-faced American cousins,
The yellow and black striped species
Will often build nests in unprotected spaces,
Between the walls of a house.

Spraying the window crevices with toxic poisons
Did no good, except to make ME queasy.
The winged terrors continued their nightly trespass
Into my sanctum sanctorum.

It was unnerving to hear them droning
Overhead after the lights were out,
And I had settled down for beddy-bye.
Nightmares overtook sweet dreams.

Though I have no quarrel with them personally,
The thought of being stung appalls me.*
As a matter of self-protection, I took to killing them
With a battery-powered electric zapper, shaped like a tennis racket.

The zapper emitted crackling sparks when pressed firmly
Against the intruders, and when held long enough,
Satisfying wisps of blue smoke would waft into the air.
Amazingly even that did not always do the job.

To achieve a bona fide death, I’d wrap the smoldering,
Twitching body into a folded paper towel
And carefully squeeze.
Best not to pinch the thorax or tail.

Mother Nature finally put an end to all this.
She delivered her first killing frost.
Besides withering the tomato stalks and basil to a pathetic heap,
It was the hornets’ death knell.  All hail our true Mother!

Boreegard  
aka Mike O'Neil
November, 2015

 * The pain from the sting may persist for several days with attendant swelling.  Victims may wish to seek medical attention in case of allergic reaction. In rare cases death can occur.