on sunny days, gently rub their bellies
so that they wriggle their little ladybird legs
offer them a garden filled with aphid-infested trees
offer them a whole kingdom of these gardens
don’t look down on their cannibalism
admire them for their sexual promiscuity
let them perch on your artworks
let them entertain themselves
inside your lightshades in winter
drag rotting logs into the house
and let them cuddle up to sleep there
never remind them how once
they were called ladycows
be patient when they are slow to dress you
they are tiny, so these things take time
