Better Living Through Bad Chemistry Poem by David McLansky

I tried to kill the milling swarm
That besieged within
My home-like barn
And ended up doing
Frightful harm;
(That often happens on the farm ;)
I poisoned us with pesticide
Thus committing cell suicide;
And for that I blame
Blue can Dow
That slowly kills
My brain somehow;
Thus fulfulling my destiny
As a Poet
(Though at the time
I didn't know it.)
It enabled me
Now disabled
To write for hours
Sitting at my table;
It also broke
The bonds of marriage,
Revealing that I was quite disparaged;
(Invalids carry no marital weight
When their mate is filled with hate.)
Thus I became a full time Poet
(Though at the time I didn't know it.)
It also prompted my true soul mate
To pass quietly through my front gate,
Restoring love and quiet faith,
(Oh the pleasure there I still partake.)