Parthenogenesis
Modern poetry modern verse contemporary poetry contemporary verse modern poem contemporary poem
If I were only Helen’s son, my heart
Would be direct, or more direct, as straight
As Queen Medea in her hate. Apart
From planning, I would be as fierce as fate.
A female preying mantis is direct.
The male most likely thinks of nothing much
But food and sex. His penis is erect
And pumping when she eats him in their clutch.
Black Widow spiders sometimes eat their mates.
Fangs made for insects grab the guys, impale
With poison, sharply ending loving dates.
I cannot recommend being a male.
King Agamemnon went to take a bath
And faced Queen Clytemnestra’s long-planned wrath.
~ Phillip Whidden