Ground Beetle

One day when I was 14 I found a ground beetle under my bed— glossy black, fast & furtive. I grabbed a thick book & beat it to death.

I liked beetles but this one frightened me. It belonged under rocks in the forest, not two feet below my pillow, burrowing through the carpet while I slept.

My voice was changing. The beetle disposed of, life went on as before but in a lower key.