You Are Not A Worm Poem by RIC BASTASA

and the worm asks the bird:
why do you like me?
and the bird says: you fill up
my hunger

can't you like me for some other
reason?
worm, i do not think, i only eat

so when you fly, or when you decide to
take me into your guts
you do not really think about me?

i have no time for it, i do what my
instincts tell me
i fly because i have wings
i use my beak because i am a bird

but why did you take me when there are
other worms on that tree?

common, you are the most visible worm
the most accessible one
and so i had no time looking for some
other worms

no, you have taken me because you love me
and you eat what you love
and hence you are so cruel

you are not a worm, you are a woman.
i am a bird, and i could be a man.