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Zyzzyvaby Catherine ChandlerI never saw a zyzzyva,its habitat sub-tropic; but I've been told it's beastly, bold, its mercies microscopic. It spends its days in baneful ways, devouring field and garden; you can be sure this epicure won't beg the palm tree’s pardon. With frightful mien it can be seen attacking jacaranda; it loves to chew on new bamboo— a match for any panda. It has a greed for guava seed, for pepper and papaya; an orchid shoot will always suit this ravenous pariah. No Hall of Fame displays its name, no Air Miles Plan rewards it; and Webster thinks the weevil stinks, but, in the end, records it.
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Catherine Chandler studied modern languages as an undergraduate and holds an M.A. in Education from McGill University, where she teaches Spanish in the Department of Translation Studies. She also manages a government-sponsored project in the Faculty of Arts. Her poems and translations have been published or are forthcoming in SPSM&H (Amelia), The Lyric, Blue Unicorn, and other journals and anthologies. She was born in New York, raised in Pennsylvania, and now lives in St. Lazare, a rural town in Quebec, Canada.