I look down and I see.
The most loathsome creature for me:
A roach crawling on the ground,
Did not think that it is found.

I pound hard till I think it dead.
To my amazement, it continues to tread.
Then suddenly, I begin to perceive.
That all along, I was wrong to believe.

Ants teach us diligence.
Flies bring us pestilence.
Rats are our guinea pig.
But what is a cockroach's sig?

You see, I often ponder on their purpose.
Other than disgust people, they just find clothes delicious.
They leave marks on my clothes with holes.
Oh God, I want to smash them with poles!

But at that moment when I witness,
Its entrails ooze out and make a mess.
Still, it continues to live, breathe and have its being.
Inch by inch, striving.

It hit me like a lightning bolt.
These creatures are not easily put to a halt.
They have a Never-Say-Die Attitude.
To me, it’s a lesson in life of the first magnitude.

I don’t look down on Cockroaches anymore.
It doesn’t mean, not killing them when I see them on the floor.
It’s just that I respect and honor God for their existence.
They have taught me an as-long-as-you-have-breath-you-can-make-it kind of persistence.