They say one room in his house
was reserved for the mosquitoes
who were remarkably well-behaved
owing to the fact that the window
was kept open all night allowing
the mosquitoes to fly out and find
sustenance wherever they could
and come back at dawn to decorate
the walls in the thousands, bellies
plump with blood, and Mr. Baxter
would go in and walk among them
without causing a stir because they
knew and trusted him until the day
he cleaned the window and forgot
to open it and we were in homeroom
when the announcement was made.
Ian Willey is a sociolinguist residing in the inland sea area of Japan. His poems have been published here and there and a few have received some recognition.