In crooked paths, they waft
through August, pinging from
fruit to fruit, gang aft
agley, then rest on plum
or Brandywine to lay
their careful schemes: in sum,
thousands of eggs per day.
They curse each coffee cup
to drink the cream, and pay
with life for that one taste.
But I, being a man,
have countless tries to waste
in winging rot to rot,
pursuing finer things.
The hands of others swat
me, rising up and up—
a driven little fly
bound for a coffee cup.