It was a damp rainy day

The slush and the mush

Triggered the dirt everywhere

Outside the roads were covered with filth

The drains overflowed, the gutters were full

Creepy crawlies fled their nests

Looking for shelter, longing to rest

My rainy shoes tired and sore

Lay outside the bamboo door

Behind it rested a scorpion wild

Hiding, straining to spy and try

To slip inside the shoes, not dry

My droopy eyes closed awhile…

The scorpion soon decided to hide

Inside my shoes, no longer dry

Hush! The world is trussed up with scorpions black

Where they hide, you cannot guess

They bite and sting no matter what

You do to try to strike them off

Scorpions are brown, black and wild

They strike when you have no place to hide.

                                                                    ~Shobha Diwakar

                                                                     Jabalpur, India