On Woodlice Poem by Francis Duggan

Behind bark of old timber going to natural decay
The woodlice do hide from the bright lamp of day
Safe from the rain and the cold and the storm
Their duties in Nature in silence they perform
In the countryside and in the backyards of the town
Piles of rubbish mostly timber they help to break down
Though they do help to lessen the impact of fire
To write of them few writers feel the desire
Tiny gray armadillo shaped crawling insects they never bite or sting
But few people ever their praises do sing
For breaking down of decaying matter by Nature designed
And by lessening fire hazard they are friends of human kind
Behind bark of old logs from sunlight and predators hidden away
Crawling insects known to live on natural decay.