Horri-bingers of Spring (Flash 55)
Horri-bingers of Spring
Fleck on neck–speck you expect
is just dang skin playing tricks on you–
new mole that close shows
itssier-than-spider legs.
Crawled through spring’s
awakening, dropped
from greening limbs, it wants truly
to suck your blood
but without benefit
of HBO–
Ixodes dammini–damn
Ixodes – it’s not fed
for months; finds you,
dear.
**************************************
This ditty to the deer tick (spreader of Lyme’s Disease) was written for ironic Isadore Gruye’s prompt on With Real Toads that lookd at the underside of spring, and also -early!–for the G-Man. (Fifty-five, without the title, little red-black seeds–wait, those aren’t seeds–)
Deer ticks are horrible–may they never alight on you.
I’ve edited since posting– reference to HBO is meant to refer to True Blood series – I confess to having read the books but not seen the series – so perhaps should be “without benefit of Charlaine Harris.” Sookie Stackhouse, I guess, I am not.
Explore posts in the same categories: poetry, UncategorizedTags: Damn Ixodes Dammini, deer tick poem, Horri-bingers of Spring, manicddaily, non-gorgeous blood gorgers, True Blood suckers, Vamps with eight legs, why is that mole on my neck waving at me?
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ManicDDaily 
May 16, 2013 at 6:40 am
I *hate* ticks…one of the nastiest crawlies, and well portrayed here–I am now brushing myself off compulsively and holding the hand mirror up to check my back. Love ‘without benefit of HBO..’ only HMO?
May 16, 2013 at 7:09 am
I meant reference to true blood series. I’ve never seen–I think it’s hbo? Maybe should say Charlaine Harris.
May 16, 2013 at 9:07 am
argh the ticks! argh.
i feel compelled to share this ode to a tick with you. enjoy!
May 16, 2013 at 10:08 am
Ticks are scary things. Poem is great! 🙂
May 16, 2013 at 10:51 am
I’m sorry, I had to laugh! Your poem starts in warning and ends so sweetly, deer/dear. And it is perfect! I laughed and shuddered and covered my neck–keep away the vampires both tiny and sexy.
Marian–that song ROCKS!
May 16, 2013 at 10:52 am
We get ticks all shapes, colours and sizes – awful things. Thankfully I haven’t had one on me for years and years. This is certainly a down-side of Spring.
May 16, 2013 at 12:52 pm
I am sure that you do! These are very teeny ones that are known for causing a really terrible joint disease. They are also known as deer ticks. k .
May 16, 2013 at 6:09 pm
Yucky. AND dangerous.
May 16, 2013 at 9:05 pm
ewwwwwww!!!! I hate ticks with a passion. Truly Horribingers…lol. You win on underbelly…I give up, don’t put a tick on me!
May 16, 2013 at 10:06 pm
I too am horrified of ticks, and loved every syllable here. I would have caught on to the True blood reference without the HBO, but we can’t expect everyone to enjoy a good bathtub read (what I call books which are best read during a long bath)! well done and viva la!!!!
May 16, 2013 at 10:07 pm
Ha! Thanks, Izzy. k.
May 16, 2013 at 10:22 pm
Karin…
Dangerous little Buggers!
Even the best of Dr’s can misdiagnose the
Many symptoms .
Loved your creepy crawley 55
Thanks for playing, I’d much rather count words than weeds…:P
Have a Kick Ass Week End
May 16, 2013 at 10:27 pm
Ha! Yes -the weeds were difficult. Have a nice weekend. k.
May 17, 2013 at 3:21 am
This is too close to home to contemplate: counted a herd of fifty making their home within the square kilometer. Can’t even laugh about it. Headbangers.
May 17, 2013 at 5:19 am
They are definitely a terrible menace. k.
May 17, 2013 at 3:33 am
Well, for sure this sounds like one of the nastier creepy-crawlers. Somehow you’ve spun something admirable from it, so well done!
May 17, 2013 at 5:37 am
blech…i have lymes disease….got it a few years ago bulls eyes and all…so i have to be really careful….of course i live in deer tick central so….
May 17, 2013 at 5:43 am
Awful. I was bitten when I was pregnant. I should write the story some time – it was a long time ago when awareness was just starting. Terrible. k.
May 17, 2013 at 5:44 am
ps so sorry. It can take years to get over. I am very careful now – we look so funny, my husband and I with pants tucked into socks, etc. k.
May 18, 2013 at 12:05 pm
yikes on being bitten when pregnant…that would be scary…ha, i dont usually tuck but i check pretty thorough when i come in from the woods…and carefully remove the blood suckers…
May 17, 2013 at 5:37 am
Reblogged this on The Cheese Whines and commented:
My brother once got bitten by a tick. He then developed a rash. Fortunately it was not Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
Ticks are very hard to kill.
May 17, 2013 at 5:42 am
Yes, they are. And hard to find.
May 17, 2013 at 7:33 am
Ticks creep me out so much They’re monsters. Your poem has made me itchy. 🙂
May 17, 2013 at 7:33 am
Ha. sorry. k.
May 17, 2013 at 12:06 pm
ugh…ticks are really dangerous as well..dunno the english word but they can cause hirnhautentzündung….a friend of my daughter was struggling with symptoms from a tick bite
May 17, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Oh this is right on! I live in a Lime Disease area, and I’ve had it! That is definitely one of the negatives of spring. Good one.
May 18, 2013 at 12:21 am
Eeuuww. I found a spider on my shirt last week, and a strange little black insect in my dog’s water dish today, after my husband caught a honeybee in a glass and released it out the door to join its mates in our flowering crabapple tree. Oh, and then I found another spider on the windowsill.
It’s that time of year, no kidding!
K
May 18, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Ugh. I just came from the woods. You have me checking. I hope never to have one of these friends find me dear either, nor my littles. Great write and reminder. 🙂