Rachel’s Roll & Sort

I'm just a beetle that lives in a tree.

Well, it's more of a sapling, but it's big enough for me.

Each day I wake up and look at what lies beyond

and think "No thanks, I'll stay where I spawned."

It's been five days since my family left me stranded,

no matter how much I demanded.

My mother told me it was going to get too cold,

refusing to listen to my fears of that household.

I may not know much having grown up with caterpillars,

but I do know for sure that that house is full of killers.

The giants who live inside have mastered the dark arts.

They have many tools to stop our beating hearts.

"What of their poison spray?" I screamed and cried.

My kin wouldn't listen and left for the outside.

Now I walk these branches alone as time ticks by

because even the furry monarchs have learned to fly.

As if my life wasn't already down in the dumps,

the morning dew has become thick, icy lumps.

The long branches of this hickory

are becoming increasingly slippery.

I think it's getting a little too cold out here for me.

It might be time to leave this tree.

This is going to sound a little biased,

but I'm still scared of that house of giants.

However, if I was to be completely honest,

the warmth the building emits leaves me quite astonished.

It feels like they have their very own sun within.

No wonder my papa chose that over the trash bin.

Unfortunately I still don't know how they open that door.

If I tried to squeeze through I'm sure I'd get squished on the floor.

So I study the house all day, dreaming of trees in Costa Rica.

It takes two days for an idea to form, when I shout "Eureka!"

A space made for crawlies like me where the cold doesn't blow.

And best of all, it's too small for the humans to go.

All that I need to do is leave behind these tree roots

and hope I don't end up on the bottom of some deadly boots.

Running, I go to the bottom of the tree and take a leap.

A strong wind blows me across the yard and leaves me in a heap.

I look up from the grass in hopes I didn't land too far,

but all I can see is a growing shadow as black as tar.

My eyes shut as I accept that the end has arrived for this bug.

How embarrassing that I feared giants when death is an Ugg.

But fate is on my side as the boot splashes in a puddle to my right.

Shivering from the ensuing wave, I smile as I'm still alive this night.

Colder than I could possibly imagine,

I take a moment to analyze what just happened.

The shoe lays in the puddle covered in moss aplenty.

What luck! This old boot is completely empty.

The breeze that caught me and left me a wreck

must have been enough to knock the shoe off the deck.

Oh My! The deck! I've landed next to the house.

And just above me is a hole large enough for a mouse!

I need to find a way up there rapidly

before the cold leaves me a casualty.

Two steps forward and I submerge in the puddle.

This was a mistake as I can't breathe and start to struggle.

Towards the surface I flail,

grabbing at the boot in hopes that I will prevail.

Up the leather I scurry,

out of the water in a hurry.

What I feared would bring me death,

has allowed me a safe place to take a deep breath.

My focus is on the entrance into the crawl space,

as I begin to sprint across the shoe lace.

A leap of faith as I jump from the rubbery sole.

God, I hope I don't miss that hole.

My head goes through, but the wall slams into my thorax.

The world spins around me until I land on my sore ass.

"Are you okay?" a soft voice asks from nearby.

I look up to see the most beautiful black fly.

Behind her are a hundred varieties of snickering critter.

Lost her in large eyes, I avoid feeling anything bitter.

She tells me to "just ignore the others,"

before she gets pushed aside by my brothers.

I can't believe it! I've made it through!

Although I wouldn't call this the ideal debut.