The Fly

 For at least 3 weeks, there has been a fly in my house, a common housefly.

     I can't recall seeing any flies all summer, not even in September, when they can be in abundance. I chalked their absence up to there not being any animals here, either outside or inside the house, and no type of food for birds or wildlife, so no attraction here. 

  So it was out of the norm when I saw a fly in my house about 3 weeks ago, a small and slender fly, and one possessing such speed that it hardly ever alit, and then only for a very few seconds, if that. Yesterday, it seemed partial to landing on the front picture window. Maybe it is attracted to the outside and wants to get out there.  I hurried to get the (rarely used) flyswatter, but by the time I returned, the fly was gone. It landed several more times and, though the swatter was at the ready, it flew off before I could even pick the swatter up. 

  Today several hours passed without my spotting the fly, and I thought maybe the fly was gone; they can't live forever. But then, during V.P. Cheney's funeral service, the fly landed on the window, and I quickly took a swat at it. I was pretty sure I had hit it, but I  couldn't find the body. Just now, the fly buzzed by me as I write this.

 I consulted ChatGBT to see what the usual lifespan of a fly is, and found they can live more than 4-6 weeks under ideal conditions. They like to be warm. I guess they don't often  starve to death.

I am familiar with Emily Dickinson's "I Heard A Fly Buzz When I Died."  Today, I must have dozed off during Cheney's funeral, and not exactly waking up, I experienced  an illusionary state where I felt the warmth of the sun on my back and could hear the heavenly strains of "How Great Thou Art."  I don't really believe a fly would be a messenger though. 

Update;  POST MORTEM