Randy Brooks

dead insects under glass
a little boy
made up names

when it opens its wings
he knows
it’s an admiral

giant swallowtail
pinned to the drying board
one antenna moves

unidentifiable cricket
in the bug collection
named Jiminy

under the display glass
a water strider’s legs
akimbo

in the driveway
he identifies
bugs guts on the car

 

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DR. RANDY BROOKS is Professor of English Emeritus at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois, where he teaches courses on haiku, tanka, and Japanese poetics. He and his wife, Shirley Brooks, are publishers of Brooks Books and co-editors of Mayfly haiku magazine. His most recent books include Walking the Fence: Selected Tanka and The Art of Reading and Writing Haiku: A Reader Response Approach.