Tapeworm

Tapeworm

by Ralph Fletcher
from Crawl Space: Poems About Scary Things

I don’t mind snakes
or wriggling worms
though there is one critter
that makes me squirm.

In your intestine
the tapeworm waits
and eats the food
fresh off your plate.

No need to hunt—
it takes your food
and steals the meat
that you just chewed.
                               
Tucked in your gut
it eats and eats;
tapeworms can grow
to fifty feet!

Most snakes are cool
and worms, no doubt,
but tapeworms
I could live without.