#gnats

Head and prothorax of gnat larva. The Natural History of Aquatic Insects. 1903.

Glow Worms | New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands

I think of all the lives the spider ate

When I kill a gnat

I think of all the gnats never born

I tell myself

I do what I must for my safety

For my comfort

Last night I killed a firefly

I thought it was a cockroach

I watched it glow for the last time

It flailed

Legs stretched out to grasp another moment

Even one millisecond more of life

I cried

How cruel

How awful

To cry over one thing for its beauty

When I would in silence grieve creatures

That do not glow

When I die

I hope I do not have to explain

I hope there is no one who keeps count

Of the lives I have taken

Needlessly

When convenient

When I could have taken the time

The effort

To show respect

To other creatures trying to survive