I asked my father once,
What is the most dangerous animal in the world?
And he replied
With the thoughtfulness of a scientist,
A tiger,
Or perhaps a wild boar —
And which would win in a fight?
I asked, so I would know
For certain
The more fearsome.
A boar, he decided,
For it could hide better.
And that was that — a boar,
The most dangerous animal in the world.
But think! An alligator can run,
Can climb, can snap its teeth,
Can walk on land and swim in water.
Couldn’t an alligator kill
A boar? And a hippopotamus
An alligator, to be sure,
With one snap of its teeth.
And what about
Killer whales? Great whites?
The squids deep down under
The ocean, that feast on passing
Humpbacks? Are they not dangerous?
I ask my mother, the doctor:
Are we the most dangerous animal
In the world? We, who destroy
Only by living?
She shakes her head,
Dismissive, endless in her practicality.
And tells me no.
She says, Nothing spreads disease
Faster than a mosquito.
Across countries, continents, oceans.
And that is that.
A mosquito
is the most dangerous animal
in the world.