The least resilient of all cockroaches

The least resilient of all cockroaches
is the one that died
in our pantry a month ago
from overeating
or overwanting
a can of peaches he couldn’t open.

I saw him just
the night before, putting
peanut butter footprints
on the ledge and making love
to a she-roach
on the pantry wall. Where he’d been
that night was anyone’s guess:
hula hooping
through the Cheerios, slurping honey
with his honey, dancing slow and easy
through a crowd of prunes.

I wonder what it was that put his feet
up in the air
when he could have survived
a nuclear winter or a collision
with an asteroid or two. Could it
have been that look in her eye
as he strained against the unopenable
can of peaches
in light syrup, which he’d
promised her one January night
when he swore his love could bring down
the moon?