The Fly           

by Melanie Choukas-Bradley


Whenever I stay at the Badlands Motel
A single lazy fly
Stays with me

I assume I’m annoyed by its presence
But after last night
I wonder

Didn’t I leave the door of my lit room
Open long enough
As I unpacked after dark

To allow the fly to enter?
And didn’t it fly in?
Wasn’t I a little lonely in darkness before it did?

My father caught fast flies in his hand
As a young man
Always letting them go

I believe he could still catch
This lazy fly
As it hovers, occasionally landing on tickling feet

At age 95
He could, but it seems I can’t or won’t
I’ve tried


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Melanie Choukas-Bradley is a naturalist and award-winning author of seven nature books, including City of Trees and A Year in Rock Creek Park. Her book, Wild Walking—A Guide to Forest Bathing Through the Seasons will be released in June. Melanie began writing poetry during the pandemic and had the good fortune to discover Beate Sigriddaughter’s Writing in a Woman’s Voice. The site has featured many of her poems, including “How to Silence a Woman,” “If I have loved you,” “The Water Cooler,” and “Muddled Grief,” which won Moon Prizes. Her poetry has also appeared in New Verse News.