it's mid winter
& large carpenter ants
are coming down
from an unpatched hole
in the bathroom ceiling
i turn on the scalding bathwater
& some are still kicking
as they float towards the slats
of the tub drain
i'm as surprised by this black procession
moving down the tile
& dropping into the porcelain basin
as i am of the mysterious pain
in my upper thigh tonight
the gnawing beneath the skin
like something the cats are
waiting for sitting atop the cabinets
ears pricked, listening to
scratching within the walls
i'm not sure what to make
of these strange invasions
but it's enough to make a man
pray for a boiling dark rain