Look, the Midges!

by Kevin T. McEneaney

Midsummer midges fly frantic in sun.

swarming in dancing-mating ritual

with frenzy akin to a packed night club

featuring a super-decibel band.

While most midges are just an annoyance,

there are some that are vampires

like the no-see-ums of America.

Solitary midges are poetic

brooders living mostly along small streams

where they sometimes recite under bridges

to smallish chamber-style audiences

in tones too low for human ears to hear.

They are quite content to dine on algae

and we know little about their brief lives.