One night, in the mattress beneath
I met a bedbug
that crawled on me
Her name was familiar
and her bite tangy
but she was as polite
as a bedbug could be
nine times she called out my name
nine times she broke my skin
until I couldn’t sleep anymore
until I threw her out the door
but soon the mattress grew lonesome
with no company to keep
and I thought of my friend
who helped me sleep.