Fly Poem by Lawrence Frankpitt Fearby

THE FLY

Oh! fly thou e'er unwanted creature

Damnable in every feature

Blessings on you, may you choke

And cease to pester peaceful folk



You creepy, crawly useless thing

Why must you tickle as you cling

And wipe your foully filthy feet

On man - God's chosen and elite.



Foul vermin though I swat and kill

And pile crushed corpses higher still

You send your reinforcements in

To join that heap of slaughtered kin



You even share my meagre meal

Will nothing curb each cursed zeal

In scalding tea why seek to swim

When death awaits you on the brim.



You blight the dewy dawn of day

As with its light you rouse your pray

You'll watch him rend his way to bed

Before your blessed belly's fed



Go buzz about you burdened beast

He'll not disturb your glutinous feast

No I - parasite you'd rather die

So here's at you filthy fly.



I'm sure that slimy sweat's enough

without your sticking to the stuff

Oh! Why did God inflict us so?

I'd give a deal of wealth to know.



Could I control your wasted life

I'd save a lot of senseless strife.

And give you powers to perceive

‘Tis deadly thus to steal and thieve

Had I but half of Robbie's wit

I'd here expound the best of it

Oh would that Burns could live again

To pen some aptly suited strain



Alas, could even he prevail

On nature with a rusting nail

The fly would still buzz out his glee

And feed on folks like you and me.



LF Fearby

Libya 26/08/1942