Ode to the Mosquito: Poems of Humor, Buzz, and Bite

August 20, 2020

As summer deepens, the season’s sweetness sometimes comes with a sting—or perhaps, a whine.

Few creatures inspire such conflicting feelings as the mosquito. In one moment, they are invisible annoyances; in the next, tiny vampires leaving their fiery marks. Poets and humorists alike have found much to say about these persistent companions of August evenings.

Whether approached with frustration or comedy, the mosquito always earns a reaction—and occasionally, a rhyme.

Australian author Doug MacLeod greets his mosquito adversary with tongue-in-cheek gentleness in his witty verse “Lovely Mosquito.”

What begins as a mock peace offering quickly turns into a comic ambush:

Lovely mosquito, attacking my arm
As quiet and still as a statue,
Stay right where you are! I’ll do you no harm-
I simply desire to pat you.
Just puncture my veins and swallow your fill
For, nobody’s going to swot you.
Now, lovely mosquito, stay perfectly still -
A SWIPE! And a SPLAT!
And I GOT YOU!
— Doug MacLeod, Australian author and poet, Lovely Mosquito

MacLeod’s playful setup and quick reversal capture the comic tension of every summer evening. We may try to maintain our composure in the garden or on the porch—but the moment of surrender always ends with the unmistakable slap of victory.

English poet David Sollis treats his mosquito in a similar spirit—part admiration, part revenge—his tone both rhyming and rueful. “Mosquito” reads like a short ballad of irritation, acknowledging the insect’s cunning while promising its doom:

Announcing your arrival
In a high-pitch buzzing-tone.
As a tactic for survival,
You’re seldom on your own.
Red lumps display where you have been
Often felt, but rarely seen.
But if I catch a glimpse of you,
my little vampire chum,
I’ll make sure you get what you’re due
And crush you with my thumb!
— David Sollis, English publisher and poet, Mosquito

In Sollis’s quick, rhyming lines, the mosquito becomes both comical and sinister—a “little vampire chum” whose arrogance deserves a final reckoning. His poem hums with the rhythm of annoyance every reader recognizes: that inevitable escalation from patience to poetic justice.

Together, these lighthearted poems remind us that humor is one of summer’s best defenses.

Even the smallest antagonists—those who hum at our ears and haunt our picnics—can become subjects of amusement rather than irritation.

So tonight, if a mosquito dares to make your acquaintance, perhaps thank it for joining a long literary tradition.

Then swat it anyway.