We laid our child
resistant bait stations

which Combat claimed
would kill non-stop

down in the kitchen
& bathroom, swore

the pandemic caused
our roach influx, cursed

the exterminator, mask
under his chin, our snap,

bilateral decision
to slam the door on him.

Hilary Sideris has recently published poems in The American Journal of Poetry, Bellevue Literary Review, Free State Review, Gravel, The Lake, Main Street Rag, Rhino, Salamander, and Southern Poetry Review. She is the author of Most Likely to Die (Poets Wear Prada 2014), The Inclination to Make Waves (Big Wonderful 2016), Un Amore Veloce (Kelsay 2019) and The Silent B (Dos Madres 2019).