Ode to Cicadas

the first sighting -

       a shell

       on the sidewalk

       outside my door

the next day it begins
   waves upon waves

       the chorus of other-worldly screams
          nature's    hardcore
              metal    glitch  rock    radio 

                        blasting     all day long

the annual apocalypse
       raucous & cacophonous
summer rite of the cicadas
       emerging from their depths
              fragile as our future

              with each passing year

       they crawl
to the safety of trees
& brick walls
       shedding exoskeletons
              & taking flight

crying for their soulmates
& drowning out our whole world
       for moments
       that go on  &  on   &
                                          o n

meanwhile    possums
       raccoons    squirrels    skunks
              cats        & robins        feast

       & the soil gratefully
              absorbs what's left

       & cicada season ends
       with a harvest festival
       for all creation

an untold
       abundance
              of food & song

                             a summer

                                   worth living

                            & dying for