Napo 9: Ms. Mosquito's To-Do List, Imago

I tried to just have fun with this today. I'm feeling a little anxious this morning because my own to-do list feels unmanageable. My column is late this month, I'm hopelessly behind with grading, and I haven't exercised enough this week. I also have no idea what I'm covering next week in my classes. Alas. Napo-ing on!

The Mosquito’s To-Do List, Imago

 

Let these wings dry—

Air them out in the morning sunlight

So they catch the rays and shine

Iridescently in a all the colors of the rainbow.

Come to terms with their beauty,

Its fleeting nature.

 

Grocery shop—maybe check out

That new place on the froo-froo side

Of town? Where everyone’s going keto?

Learn to deal with this newfound hunger.

 

Practice using this fresh voice—

The eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee,

Music to my nonexistent ears.

 

Pray for rain to fall from the sky—

How the body longs for puddles

And pools, how it aches for the scent

Of petrichor to fill the wind.

 

Work out. Practice swerving

To avoid the swat. Maybe try CrossFit?

 

Find a mate? Or let a mate find me?

How does that even work?

Maybe I’ll download Bumble

Like all the queens.

 

Grow a garden of welts

In the soil of skin—make it bloom

My favorite color: rubescent.

 

Have the girls over for daiquiris.

Take long drags of sweetness

And gossip. God, it’s been far too long

Since our pupa days, when we all held hands

Like schoolgirls.

 

Raise a million children before I die,

Tomorrow.