The Little Gnat

by Jane Tawel

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The Little Gnat

By Jane Tawel

June 1, 2025

*

I watch the smallest gnat

flit around my reading lamp.

I bugged me, so,

I tried once or twice to squash it.

But after it kept getting away,

I asked its forgiveness:

“Forgive me, please.”

Why should I murder

a little gnat?

It does me no harm.

So, I shall do it no harm

and thereby live

One perfect

Harmless

Moment.

*

Why do I choose

to feed on feces

when by turning around

I could find The Feast?

*

The mind runs willy-nilly,

desperate to escape the heart.

Why?

*

The walls we build are made

of solid ice — cold and hard.