I Want to Be an Insect by Neil Ellman

sculpture by Leonora Carrington

I Want to Be An Insect
 
I want to be
anything but the thing I am
an insect first
and last to live
even for just a day        
in a post-apocalyptic world
without a human sound
a soldier in an army of the ants
a worker for the queen of bees
to fly (with wings my own)
to crawl (not on my knees)
to suck the nectar of a god
or be the god of butterflies
I want to be anything but
the bug I am.

Neil Ellman

Neil Ellman, a poet from New Jersey, has published numerous poems, more than 850 of which are ekphrastic, in print and online journals, anthologies and chapbooks throughout the world.  He has been nominated twice for the Pushcart Prize and twice for Best of the Net.