Watering the paintbrush plant 

I perpetuate art 

Out of the dampened soil 

Comes the scent of petrichor 

Along with minuscule black gnats 

The next day, I set up glue traps

A final solution 

I write a review about The Diary of a Young Girl 

Stating that its virtue 

Is its ability to show the totality of one life.

A gnat lands on my hand

I once read that because of their eyes, 

Houseflies process visual information seven times faster than humans.

To them, we move like a houseplant grows. 

I examine the bug. Up close it has character. 

I hesitate before smushing it. It goes so easy. 

It is now dust and forever will be.