A Fool’s Discourse Poem by Albert Ahearn

Am I the fool for not killing this fly
That persistently harasses me now?
Is my respect for life absurd, awry?
Should my philosophy be disavowed?
Isn’t all life a very sacred thing?
You say, yes, but a fly! A billion die
Each day! Ah! But most die on the wing.
My belief is ‘live and let live’, and why?
Nothing is insignificant to me.
Suppose for a moment you are that fly
And programmed to pester me endlessly?
Must I kill you in a blink of an eye?
Until Man respects life of every kind
Our future holds no hope for humankind.