Self Defense

June 7

I am thankful for self defense. I am not a big proponent of guns or weapons, so what I am speaking about is being able to protect yourself from harm.

Everybody in Louisiana knows that this caterpillar is commonly known as the stinging caterpillar. Spring is the time for these little fellows. It is the buck moth caterpillar and those spikes pack a poisonous whollup that will keep you in pain for a while. It doesen't attack but it defends itself from anything that wishes to harm it by giving it a healthy "sting" if it brushes up against it. Although there are plenty of these in my yard this season, this particular guy was found and photographed at the Hilltop Arboretum in Baton Rouge walking along the wooden rails of a bridge.

stinging caterpillar

i just wish

there was someone to hug

wrap my arms around

just for one other bug

but for some reason

no one will get close

i just can’t understand

leaves me so morose

but one day

i turn around to find

i can fly away

and others of my kind

flock to me

get next to me

then they hug

and i am free.

© rt tulley