A Horrible Little Creature

In the middle of the night

After feeling a bite

I jumped up with fright

And turned on the light.

Underneath the top sheet

And close to my feet,

My eyes did meet

A creature long and neat.

I began to see red

As it crawled across my bed

And with a feeling of dread

I kill it dead! dead!

My wife was a brave heart

With her paper bin art,

Its first death was her part...

Boy, wasn’t she smart?



I quickly got a shoe
A lot they can do,
Death number two
Was done by a shoe.

Now for the name

Of the source of my pain,

The villain in this game

Was of forty-leg fame.

It did not bleed

But it showed great speed,

The victim of our deed

Was a centipede.

It disrupted my night

When it gave me that bite,

So I was within my right

To end its flight.

A slice of onion

Was applied to the location,

And this took quick action

To extract the venom.

Contrary to my belief

It brought quick relief

But all sleep still ceased

 On account of that thief.

With all that said

I am now back in bed,

Though that demon is dead

It is still in my head.

I can’t even yawn

All sleep has gone,

I am the only one

And it is almost dawn.

That segmented pest

Interrupted my night’s rest

And in our little contest

Came off second best.

When there’s rain

They come out to cause pain,

On ledges or in drains

They will drive you insane.

In my bed
Centipede dead!
Still in my head
Enough said!

So I wrote this poem

To highlight the problem,

Centipedes by the dozen...

O how I hate them!

Stewart Russell © November 2019