The Oak Worms' War by Brian Kunde

The Oak Worms' War
by Brian Kunde

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The Oak Worms' War
by Brian Kunde

From Stanford's oak trees, every spring,
A horde of worms goes dangling,
And waits impatiently in places
Sure to intersect our faces,
Or our hair, or gaps between
Our necks and collars. My, they're mean!

In each and every year they lurk
To ambush staff enroute to work,
And students in-between their classes;
Anyone, in fact, who passes
Underneath their native oaks:
They harbor hate against such folks.

I know not why the worms should be
So brimming with hostility
Against these harmless passers-by,
But that they are I can't deny.
It sounds so frivolous, so idle --
Not to mention suicidal.

But sometimes reasons matter not:
Whatever they may be, we've got
To brave the terrors that they bring
To bear on all of us each spring,
And run that gauntlet we abhor
Each morning of the oak worms' war.

Originally published in SUL News Notes, April 22, 1994.
c 1994, 1995 Brian Kunde.

The Oak Worms' Warby Brian Kunde