An Anti-Ode to Unnecessary Flies of Winter

---

Wahhaj Khokhar

 

your

buzzing

alerts to me

your presence

like an

exclamation mark

pops                                         up on my                               head

followed by                                                                  red anger

my skin                                                             heated

like boiling oil

 

my arms                                               flail away

hoping to hit                                    you indiscriminately

as my eyes search for                             the source of your sound

but it’s                                             too late

you’ve infiltrated                                       my personal space

hell, you’re                                                                 on my face

and with the repulsion rivaling NASA                                   rockets, I thrust myself                  backwards

squinting, swatting, breathing

                                           I know why you exist

my mother had brought                                                                                                  you along with her plants

a last ditch effort                                                                         to save her hobby

she picked up                                                                                                               this quarantine

but my desk is                                                                                       on the first floor

eight feet from your leafy                                                           green and brown origin

 

the plants are dead

but you

you                               are an invader in my                  kingdom

you defy                                           logic – insects                                        during winter?

had I even                                              considered turning down                                             the heat

sacrificing warmth

for momentary peace

 

quit buzzing,

would ya?

i lose you once you

get to a dark background

your camouflage tactics

are getting old

sometimes things aren’t

so bad and you aren’t here

but then

you

buzz

---

Wahhaj Khokhar  graduated in May 2021 as a major in Honors Philosophy with a minor in Biological Sciences. He was also on the pre-med track and aspires to become a physician. His hometown is Jersey City, where he’s lived for almost all of his life. He wrote this piece in Joanna Fuhrman’s creative writing course. Fuhrman selected it for inclusion in WHR.