I watched him as he struggled

To gain the open door

But, just before he reached it

He lay lifeless on the floor.

 

It was really I who killed him

Though I didn’t hold a gun –

For poison was the perfect way

To get the business done.

 

I’d paid someone to slay him,

And it was cash well spent

For the hired assassin,

It seemed, was heaven sent.

 

He really had it coming

This intruder in my house,

So cunning, and so stealthy,

And as quiet as a mouse.

 

Did I feel a stab of pity,

Or a twinge of self-reproach?

Of course not, for the victim

Was a nasty, big cockroach.