after Nikki Giovanni
Once, I stomped on an anthill to satisfy
a curiosity that resembled cruelty.
Once, I crushed a spider out of fear.
Once, I smashed a moth with a book
because it did not belong in the house,
but I always spared the ladybug in the car.
Once, I allowed a beetle to cross the border
back into the country of beetles,
but I could not allow the cockroach to live.
Sometimes I was afraid
and sometimes I was not
but I don't think I have the right
to decide who deserves everything
and who deserves nothing.
