The Crawdads, They Pop

a childhood memory, a massacre of innocents at the hands of the innocent.



on a sunny summer afternoon
driving home from man-made beach on a lake
we had stopped for reasons forgotten
we found them in a stream
picked them up by handfulls
five gallons worth of bucket
a new home for pygmy-lobsters
they crawled around, we played with them
like cat's who've snared a bug
surreptitiously we'd perch them
upon shoulders of adults
a stern yelling at, small price to pay

once at home we donned our labcoats
and the experiments began
first a pot of water
set to a rolling boil
and we dropped some in and watched them squirm
until their carapace turned brightest red
a frying pan was also tried
I don't recall that research data
what really stick into my mind was another test
in our household kitchens reactor
we popped one in and closed the door
and set the timer to nuke
in crawled around for our amusement
and then it started to pop
and out it came, a bright red morsel
the experiment a success!
and like popcorn we did snack

and to this day I know that I
am no better than the rest
for this wanton cruelty
this sick torture
still firmly in my mind
as a memory of childhood
that I cannot help but think fondly of