Written by Susan Lane

So, I decided to move the bug hotel

In this tale of garden grit and poetic wit, Susan Lane chronicles the quiet drama of the closure of the bug hotel and the debris-laced aftermath. With robins as breakfast guests and hedge trimmers as co-stars, this piece celebrates the small victories of domestic survival – where every bag of clippings, every cup of tea, and every typed-up verse becomes part of a larger story. Welcome to ColourMine, where even the mess has meaning.

It had housed so many bugs 
In that lovely dell 
But after three years and 
No more food 
All those critters have moved to 
Another better neighbourhood 

They only stay you see 
When there’s plenty of debris to eat 
Once that’s done and gone to dirt 
They’re off somewhere else 
That’s better to flirt 

I thought I would lighten the load
Because this is no viability 
To consider lifting 
All that dirt unnecessarily 

So, branches, twigs and dirt too 
Upended from that one-ton bag for me 
Other woody bits I put in another bag 
And left the rest of the debris for the robins 
To pick over for their breakfast, dinner and tea 

Well, after lifting and sorting everything 
I found I’d gotten several more bags 
To load hedge cuttings in 
That’s quite a touch I think 

Because that means I don’t 
Have to stop, wait and find 
More of these big bags and 
That would be such a bind 
But now I can play 
So much more without delay

I’d already had to wait 
Until September because of 
Government legalities 
To cut the hedges down 
To something more 
Manageable for an old lady 

Hotel Gone

Now that’s all cleared and fairly clean 
I’ve just to wait for 
The next scene to breathe 
I need for the grass to be drier 
For either cutting or safety

Because water and electric are not 
A good combination for me 
When it’s all good then I can be me 
And play with the hedge trimmer 
To fill another bag with clippings, hehe 

So, maybe in the meantime 
I’ll have another cup of tea 
And possibly something to eat 
Maybe type up a poem 
So that I can upload it 

For you to read 
Is there no end to the things I must do 
Well, it’s a no from me 
Now, for goodness sake, click on 

Blog
For your next poem to read and 
If you’re really clever you’ll have figured out 
About the categories 

Which if you click on there 
There will be more of the same type of poem 
For you to read, hehe

© Susan Lane. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without prior written permission from the author.

ColourMine poetry, and the original photographs, are completely authentic to myself, Susan Lane – no AI, no plagiarism, all checked and verified by copyleaks

Apologies for the emoji presentation – I tested several, but this was the only one that worked reliably on ColourMine. Just click the box next to the emoji and hit submit, and I’ll know if the poem resonated with you. Thank you for sharing your feelings.

More poems written by Susan Lane, and you can choose by category Blog | Organic voice | A happy survival of triumph here

Speak freely, ColourMine and myself will be pleased to hear from you.