{"id":90201,"date":"2020-07-22T23:57:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-23T04:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=90201"},"modified":"2020-07-22T19:47:59","modified_gmt":"2020-07-23T00:47:59","slug":"the-view-from-the-balcony-pester-me-no-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/the-view-from-the-balcony-pester-me-no-more\/","title":{"rendered":"The View From The Balcony: “Pester Me No More!”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(from the pen of the Sundown Cowboy, self-proclaimed Poet Lariat of The Balcony)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

I felt you on my left tricep
during my morning walk\u2015
scratching, stinging, sucking,
biting, piercing, gnawing\u2015
doing whatever parasites such as you
do on sweaty human flesh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Mother-Father-Grandparent Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I looked but could not see you.
I hoped that maybe\u2015
just maybe you were gone.
No such luck.
You kept doing your best to bug me
and you were damn good at it, too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Dear Brother-Sister-Cousin Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swatted you away
and you came right back.
I swatted again
and you moved to my right tricep,
then to my left shoulder blade,
then back to my right tricep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Priest-Bodhisattva-Guru Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I swatted up; I swatted down.
I swatted left; I swatted right.
Observers would have laughed
or thought me psychotic.
I swatted with my water bottle.
Only the fleck of a foot remained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Rabbi-Shaman-Imam Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I could still feel you.
You remained on my body
everywhere you\u2019d lit.
Such a determined little varmit\u2015
a pest among pests.
But the Great Fly Swatter prevailed,
then left the Killing Path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Stranger-Friend-Itinerant Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Zen, I wondered,
\u201cWere you the same fly that hounded me
for three days and nights in my home?
Did I not capture you and set you free?
Did I not release you into the wild?
And this is how you would repay me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Rich-Poor-Middleclass Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy did you plague me so?
Now you are dead.
Were you trying to tell me something?
Were you a messenger from afar,
vainly saying, \u2018Wake up!
Something important\u2019s happening here!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Red-Yellow-Black-White Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I returned to the Killing Path,
for such is my route,
another vermin took up the task.
\u201cWhat is the length of a fly\u2019s life?\u201d I wondered.
\u201cIs this the offspring of the first,
or the first, resurrected\u2015reincarnated?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Gay-Straight-Transgender Fly,<\/em>
pester me no more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nearing home my thoughts turned
to the many times,
irritated with some small thing,
some pesky-peeving person,
I had selfishly shooed them away.
What treasures might I have missed?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Persistent-Dogged-Relentless Fly,<\/em>
I see now you will not let me be!<\/em>
You extorted my attention,<\/em>
receive now my intention.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dear Unshakable-Steadfast-Fearless Fly!<\/em>
Come.<\/em>
Come push me.<\/em>
Come teach me.<\/em>
Come pester me\u2015<\/em>
more!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026and that\u2019s the View from The Balcony<\/p>\n\n\n