What to Do If You Are a Cicada
Remember you are not a locust.
Get used to your nicknames “harvest flies” and “dog-day cicadas.”
Live most of your life underground.
Emerge from the ground at sunset some evening when it’s 64 degrees.
Climb high up in the tree and be a treehugger.
Drink your nutrients from the trees.
Get ready to start singing loudly if you’re male.
Try to sing louder than all other cicadas, so children never forget your loud song.
Abandon your shell on the tree, so children never forget you.
Get used to your nicknames “harvest flies” and “dog-day cicadas.”
Live most of your life underground.
Emerge from the ground at sunset some evening when it’s 64 degrees.
Climb high up in the tree and be a treehugger.
Drink your nutrients from the trees.
Get ready to start singing loudly if you’re male.
Try to sing louder than all other cicadas, so children never forget your loud song.
Abandon your shell on the tree, so children never forget you.
This poem is copyright (©) Judy Lorenzen 2024
About the Writer
Judy Lorenzen
Judy is a poet, writer and former English teacher and children’s librarian. Her works are published in The Untidy Season: An Anthology of Nebraska Women Poets, The Grand Island Independent, Misbehavin’ Nebraskans, Voices from the Plains, vol. 2, and on Front Porch Review, Verse-Virtual, Your Daily Poem, and Autumn Sky among other publications.
