The poet.
The quotes are from a friend of mine who was--
she and I always liked to joke with each other.
The poet.
Are you really a poet?
She asked.
Sure, crickets always talk like that.
A couple of nights after I listened for a long time
to a couple reminding themselves about 10 million years ago
in some cave in Asia.
It was a long, long time ago.
They rattled membranes together and sang all night long.
I didn't know you were a poet, she said.
Later on there was another cave, a woman was moaning
and later she was laughing not very far from a glaziers edge.
To the South were swaying grasses,
brightly colored birds, warm oceans, hot deserts,
and strange gods who demanded nothing.
She asked me if I liked crickets.
I said Yeah, but not cockroaches.
I wondered out loud if cockroaches
are any relation to crickets and she
said maybe but not too close.
I want to look it up somewhere, but 10 million years
is a hell of a long time to really clear it up.
How long you've been a cricket?