Buggy

I wrote this way back in 1997, when we lived in Japan. (It’s better if you listen to it.)

Buggy
Gokiburi in the TV room,
Mukade slithering the hall.
Ari attacking my kitchen,
Namekuji sliming the wall.
My roses are aburamushi infested,
Marumushi killed the beans.
There's a giant, flying  beetle
Committing hara kiri on my screen.
The ka and ga are oblivious
Of the katorisenko on the floor.
The carcasses of hae
Are swept daily out the door.
There's those little, flying white bugs
In my rice bin--what are they called?
But, really, this is quite enough.
Aargh! I'm going buggy, that's all.

Here’s what those Japanese words mean:

gokiburi - cockroach(es). They were such a nuisance!

mukade - centipede(s). One crawled in my futon one night. I still haven’t recovered.

ari - ant(s). I like ants. As long as they’re outside.

namekuji - slug(s). Little slimy things, not like the giants we have here in Washington.

aburamushi - aphid(s) - My poor roses….

marumishi - a worm that loves bean plants, probably a cut worm or army worm.

hara kiri - ritual suicide. Often pronounced “harry-carry” in English.

ka - mosquito(s). Hubby-san seems to attract them, poor guy.

ga - moth(s), Hubby-san’s least favorite bug, even more so than mosquitos.

hae - fly(ies), of all sizes, shapes and colors.

katorisenko - a coil that you light to keep mosquitos away. It smokes like incense.