I had a scorpion
under my pillow.
Sounds like a great
Metaphor for life,
Except for the fact that –
I had a scorpion
Under my pillow.

He seemed to arrive
during the night.
I saw him but in the
darkness before dawn
I didn’t know what he was.

The image
Stuck with me,
And later that day
I checked to see
if he was there.

He was and
He didn’t like
being found,
So over the
side of the bed
He fled.

I texted the family
“There’s a scorpion
Under my pillow.”
I received the usual
comments from
unbelieving adult children.

I googled images
I asked AI
What had I seen?

Maybe he came back
I thought.
Grabbing my phone
I carefully lifted the pillow

There he was
Taking an afternoon nap.
I clicked a picture
Sent it to the family
“Yep that’s a scorpion!”
“Kill it”
“Smash it with a book”

They mistook me for
Someone who kills things.
“I’m not doing that”
I replied.

A short time later
A car pulled in.
The fearless
farmer daughter
to my rescue.

She scooped him
In a glass and
Jeff and I
cleaned every inch
Of the room.

I’ve thought about what
life lesson this could be –
Danger is all around,
Evil creeps in when
we are unaware.

But nothing seems
to work as well as:
I had a scorpion
Under my pillow
and I didn’t die.