A Mite’s Tale

                                       Latha Prem Sakhya

“Amma” she shrieked,

I tried to hide in a corner of my home.

“Look there it is,” amma laughed.

“Where? Over there.”

She pointed to my corner.

“Oh my, it’s such a mite’.

“No, I don’t want it here, I won’t sleep,

He will come on to my bed”.

Amma  rolled up a newspaper

Sweeping me out of the corner

She threw me out along with the paper.

Immediately I sprang up on the jasmine vine

Tomorrow I, will be there, I consoled myself;                                                        

The moment she starts for school.

I resumed my arduous journey   back

But in the night, the same drama was repeated

But I was adamant, it was a good corner

I caught enough mosquitoes for my food

So back I went  to my corner, this continued for days.

Amma was really sorry for me I think

One night I heard her say, 

“Let it be mone, he will never harm you,

He will eat all the mosquitoes and insects”.

But she was terrified of spiders

And amma had to throw me out.

One day I was fed up of weaving web

I decided to move off.

Fortunately I found a safe place

A secure corner under the kitchen slab

Where I knew my web would be safe

I was sure amma wouldn’t mind

Sharing her space with me.

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