The Gadfly Poem by RIC BASTASA

the donkey's
tail was badly bitten
by the gadfly

the goddamn
gadfly
made the tail swell
got infected
and the donkey
died

the donkey
has a spirit and it rises
high above
its dead body
above the grass
and the table
where its body
is laid

and when it
sees
everything now
clearly
and accurately
why the gadfly
bites &
why he died
not by fate alone
but for a reason

it knows this:
the gadfly suffers
a lot
from being disliked
by everyone

it killed the donkey
far from making it move
and do
a lot of work better
and faster
far from its motive
of efficiency
it died instantly
causing much sorrow
to its master
its user and abuser

but the donkey
still recommends
more gadflies in
society

and adopts Darwin's
legacy
let the most fit survive
let the weak become
the humus of
the earth
for the seeds of the trees
for the moss
for all those roots
for all future fertility.