The Cockroach by Kevin Halligan

About:

The Poem:

I watched a giant cockroach start to pace, skirting a ball of dust that rode the floor.

At first he seemed quite satisfied to trace A path between the wainscot and the door,

But soon he turned to jog in crooked rings, Circling the rusty table leg and back,

And flipping right over to scratch his wings - As if the victim of a mild attack

Of restlessness that worsened over time.

After a while, he climbed an open shelf And stopped.

He looked uncertain where to go.

Was this due payment for some vicious crime A former life had led to? I don't know, Except I thought I recognised myself.

In Class Tasks

1. Task: to write a letter to a student:

Dear Shadow,

I hope this message finds you well, wherever you sit, whatever you smell, in whichever place your senses dwell. I am writing to you as a little cockroach, running around on your apartment floor, your house floor, or the floor you once strode.

So little I am, you hardly see, but really what I am is more than me. Running along the base of your floor, tracing your steps from door to door, I follow you here, I follow you there, unseen, unheard, yet always aware.

You do not like me, that I know, my scrawny legs, my awkward show. A sight to see, I truly am not, yet in your mind, I stir a thought. I do not wish to harm, I promise you that, yet still, you scream at my tiny flat. Deep, deep down, perhaps you see a part of me, a shadow of what it is to be.

I scuttle under tables, move and skirt the dust balls around. I pace in a crooked ring, imagining your movement of this morning. Sometimes I even flip onto my back, my tiny acrobatics, the strange little things. Unseen and misunderstood, I am left, yet alive in ways you cannot see. In every corner hides a world, in every shadow a mystery. Though I know you wish me gone, I still linger, tracing, learning, and wondering when you will see my show.

Sometimes I pause and freeze, uncertain where to go next. But that is life, is it not? Restless, circling, never fully at ease. And in that moment, as I look at your feet, your hands, your floor, I feel… strangely humanly. Cricling, wondering, facing a dream, I do just wish to flee.

Yours truly,

The Cockroach

2. Task: answer the following questions about the poem thoroughly and in depth:

1. If the speaker is spending time "watching" a cockroach walk around, what might he be thinking? Why is he taking time out to watch this creature? How is he feeling? There is no right answer here but try to infer meaning about this.

2. Why refer to it as a "giant" cockroach? Does this give it more significance?

3. The poem is written in iambic pentameter. Why do you think this is the case? Do some research about this online if you are stuck. Ask Google or Chat GPT why the iambic pentameter is typically used and try and figure out why it has been used here.

4. "Skirting" means to dodge. Why has the poet personified the cockroach here?

5. The "path between the wainscot and the door" is very straight. Why does the author observe the cockroach starting off straight before later going in circles and looking confused? How might this relate to life?

6. The cockroach is described as running in "crooked rings." Explain some of the

connotations of this phrase and what it might imply about life.

7. Why does the cockroach "flip over" as if under "attack from restlessness"? What could this represent in a human life? Do we ever feel helpless and immobile? To what extent do you think this image is a metaphor for problems we face? Try to explain your opinion clearly.

8. Why does the cockroach "climb on to an open…