lanternflies

one time

i was walking

and i saw it

sitting there on the sidewalk

as if it belonged

and I couldn't quite believe my eyes

there it was, in front of me.

grey wings, black spots

red body, blue underneath

invasive species

that did not exist in this place

not according to the state

and I did what I knew I needed to

raised my foot

brought it down

bracing for the crunch

and it jumped, so

I had to try again -

success. the moth was no more.

and I kept walking

like a fool, almost proud

to have seen my first one

and sad to have had to kill it

because it'd been so beautiful.

then I looked up from my feet

and saw a dozen more

crawling on brick pillars

and concrete of the sidewalk

taking over the veranda

and I could not kill them all

because of what people might think

so I casually stomped two or four

more that were unlucky enough

to be within my reach of walking

stride. and pulled out my phone

to document the numbers for

the record to report the lanternflies,

the invasion, to the state

how could I have called them pretty?

now I saw through the façade.

they didn't belong here.

much like me, they would

wreak havok in environments

not their own, blow

through trees and disrupt cycles

of feeding, bring disease -

altogether, spell disaster.

they would become a plague.

they had to be controlled.

they could not simply stay.

they needed to go home.

like me, I realized.

I'd thought I this *was* my home.

but there's nothing here for me to find;

just death beneath a sole.