the ex-terminator

I know
that every time I am lazy
and leave dishes in the sink
until morning
those virulent roaches
call the hot line and
have a house party.
But life is like that, I guess.
Let things slide
while you take a
quickbreath
and before you know it,
people are
crawling all over you—
needing this, wanting that,
advising this, demanding that.
What I need is
a giant can of Raid to get everyone
off my back
and back into
their drainpipes.

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer