Worm Hole

The mid-morning sidewalk is littered
with earthworms that have sizzled
in the sun.

Their dried bodies look like
macabre confetti from a party
they wanted to leave early.

Every time I see them,
one earthworm still wriggles
in a desperate dance for life.

Sometimes, I pick him up gently
and return him to the cool, tall grass.

Sometimes, I leave him
to make his own way
around the bodies of his brothers

like the rest of us.