Night-time.
During the great Indian summer.
With no respite
From the heat and sweat as folks slumber.

With a power cut in the neighborhood,
I flung open the window and curtains
Hoping for the breeze to do me some good,
But the warm gusts brought no changes.

As I drifted in and out of sleep,
I became conscious of a presence.
And, although I was so drowsy,
My senses were heightened.

It started with a humming
A stretched low mmmmmm.
Then, an ominous silence –
And my eyelids drooped again.

Suddenly, I felt a sharp “pritch!”
By pritch, I mean a prick and an itch,
And that jolted me out of my sleep.
Cursing loudly, I turned on the light switch.

It took me time to adjust my sight,
But there she was in all her glory –
A mosquito in her flight,
And that was the start of this war story.

In a rage, I leapt up towards her,
But missed squashing her narrowly.
As if taunting me, she buzzed slower
And inched closer towards me.

Not to be outdone, I dodged sideward
Trying to catch her with one hand.
Missed again! Oh yes! She was clever
As she mmmmed away unharmed.

I stared at her with focused intent.
Was that her laughter or just my mind?
Then, the chase commenced,
As I smacked my hands many times.

Of her death, I was so convinced,
But when I stopped, I wasn’t right.
Into my view, she flew with nonchalance,
As if mocking at my plight.

Furious, I folded a newspaper
“Never give up,” a caption read.
I jumped about whacking the air,
But she was indomitably still there.

In disbelief, I went towards the balcony
And opened the door to gasp the cool air.
Dawn was breaking across the sky slowly
As she finally cruised outside with flair.

The battle was won, though I lost the war,
But here is the lesson you should know –
Never underestimate the power
Of a common mosquito.