The following poem came to me while I was staying in a hotel room at a youth group retreat. I promise that the hotel didn’t have roaches (that I could see). What is notable is shortly after I wrote this, I sprained my ankle dancing and had to go to the emergency room. I was wearing a giant daisy headband and camouflage shorts.
Can’t Keep Me Away (January 1998)
I’m just the roach
crawling on the bedsheets
(torn and faded)
go ahead, ignore me
you always do
I’m just the roach
scurrying on the floor
(dirty and grim)
go ahead, ignore me
you always do
I’m just the roach
I know you hate me
go ahead, get the spray
kill me like you always do
But I always come crawling back
danielle dreger 