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The Fly
by Ogden Nash
God in his wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.
Ogden Nash is one of my favorite poets. His work is often short, funny, and it speaks to my feelings. This is no exception.
I might be frightened of some creepy-crawlies, such as the dinner-plate sized spiders that are part of life in Australia, or scorpions, or killer bees. I mean, I spent a lot of my childhood being told that there was a swarm of killer bees on its way into the United States. The news reports back then showed maps of how far they’d advanced into Texas. Living just north of Texas, I knew it was only a matter of time until this was a problem I’d have to face. Then, you know, I never ended up facing them. I guess they learned a lesson about messing with Texas after they crossed the border. Or maybe the whole thing was made up – like the ever-present threats posed by quicksand and acid rain.
If you were a kid back then, you knew it was only a matter of time until you were going to leave one of your friends in an inconsolable state over your too-young dead body.
Anyway.
I have fear of some insects and bugs, but I don’t really hate them. I guess I might classify my emotions as territorial respect. Flies, though, they get my hatred. I’ve been thinking about them a lot lately. For whatever reason, the place where I live is just buzzing with them all the time and the rest of the Reviews family (dog included) works hard to leave our door open long enough to let them inside. Just the other day, I was minding my own business and a fly dive-bombed my right nostril. Why? God only knows. My well-informed opinion is that there is a link between their kind and demons, though.
Ba’al Zabub , Ba’al Zvuv or Beelzebub (/biːˈɛlzəbʌb, ˈbiːl-/] bee-EL-zə-bub, BEEL-; Hebrew: בַּעַל־זְבוּב Baʿal-zəḇūḇ), also spelled Beelzebul or Belzebuth, and occasionally known as the Lord of the Flies, is a name derived from a Philistine god, formerly worshipped in Ekron, and later adopted by some Abrahamic religions as a major demon. The name Beelzebub is associated with the Canaanite god Baal.
I used to play Christian worship music to drive them away, and I had some success. Encouraged by that, I’ve been attempting to escalate their sense of unease in my presence, by working toward greater personal holiness and doing things like praying in Latin to ward them off.
It suddenly occurs to me that if “the purpose of a thing is what it does,” then I might be living out the answer as to why we have flies. Huh.
