The Hoverfly

One day before the rains came down
So hot! - outside I sat a while;
A cloud of friendly beasts appeared,
What could I do, but sit and smile?

A poem for P…..
 
Wee friendly beastie come,
Timorous you’re not, my friend;
Upon my hand you’ve settled now,
Your life so chequered, soon to end.

Your friends now hover about my head,
Back and forth in sun so warm;
Your life with them you’ll never regret,
As round the lilies they hover and swarm.

Emergence of great proportion I see,
As into the house in droves they pour;
Your many friends now gather and rest,
Upon the ceiling and on the floor.

But you, my friend upon my hand,
You sit and stare with eyes so wide;
Is your trust in me so great?
Your thoughts in me confide?

A month of life you’ve had – no more,
An egg, then larva in muck and slime;
So stinking and sticky a life it was,
But now in sun, a dance sublime.

I know, a syrphid fly you be,
Syrphus ribesii is who you are;
So special a life, so fine you look,
One day to dance is all by far!

Now off you dance and join your friends,
Around the lilies by the door;
‘Cos soon you’ll die and there you’ll be,
A corpse with many ‘pon the floor.

Oh Syrphus ribesii, what a life,
Through mud and slime you’ve survived;
One day of sun and dance you’ve had,
But here it is that you danced and died