The Cockroach's Survival.... Poem by RIC BASTASA

i guess the secret of the
cockroaches survival underneath
the filth is its having to accept
the edict that one must only mind
its own business,

of loving dirt and feeding upon
it, and of loving fellow filthy
underground elements and pretend
that all is well for as long as
no one preys and eats another
dirty dozen or filthy fellow,

and when everyone is tired and asleep
and dreaming and mindless, one simply
has to enjoy that beautiful world,

alone in the kitchen and always nibbling.