Minotaur Beetle
Typhaeus typhoeus
Black scarab jewel
noseying November leaf litter:
you tip over with a cargo
of pink podded mites
latched on to your belly,
a split fig.
Ridged thumb nail,
shrieking at high frequency
weighed down by stowaways.
I think of you – tiller,
quarrying single nest chambers
from a spinal corridor,
gifting each of your progeny
a dung marble
before sealing your nurseries
with a plug of clay.
Legs writhing like a baby's
you rock yourself back on your feet
and scurry for fresh muck.
Hélène is a practising psychotherapist and poet living in South Devon. She was joint winner of the Hedgehog Press Full Fat Poetry Collection competition 2020, and her debut collection The Plumb Line was published in 2022. She is the winner of the Silver Wyvern, Poetry On The Lake Competition, 2022. Her poetry can be found in numerous magazines and webzines.