A Fighter

The author of three collections of poetry, Ryan McLellan is a performance poet, singer/songwriter, and English teacher from New Hampshire. His poems have appeared most recently in Concise Delight, The 2010 Poets' Guide to New Hampshire, Bird's Eye reView, and OVS Magazine. The recipient of the 2009 Esther Buffler Memorial Fellowship and member of the 2009 Slam Free or Die team, he is also the frontman for the psychobilly band The Caught Flies. 

A Fighter
By Ryan McLellan
I was amazed she was still alive,
given how cold it had been. She
flew into the bookstore to warm up
and find a potential blood-meal;
probably her last chance.

She circled my head, buzzed an ear
and went towards the back of the
store, where an elderly couple
stood pawing through travel
books, and was swatted by
the woman when she landed
on the back of the man's shoulder.

What she didn't know and I
couldn't tell her, was that I would
have let her have her meal if she'd
landed on my hand or camped out
on my calf. I've got plenty of
blood to spare.

Maybe it was my scent; I've heard
body odor is the best repellent. Or
maybe she saw the sad and tired
look on my face and decided to cut
me a break. Whatever it was,
she spared me and I couldn't
help her.

Posted by Annmarie at 3/31/2010 9:33 PM
Categories: today's words
Tags: Ryan McLellan swat blood-meal kindness buzzing
 

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