We are being seen by a stranger
and I do not know whom it tells
of our goings on and comings round,
season after season, this time and next.
It is there, in the grass, staring,
all bug-eyed in threat, bald and crooked,
mouth full manna fallen from its heaven.
A singular crusade, a crowd of one,
crawling along the cement.
Agile, and ever aware of shadows
and trembling of the brunt blades,
or wind that is not common so far down,
it quicksteps to the quiet of stalk or stem
to perch and peer at predators between the leaves.
When it slips or sinks away, or perishes
in the push down step of giants,
the last thing it blinks at, looks away from,
looks back at, is its nightmare, a face and foot,
like huge slabs of slate falling flatful of fate
from the sheer face of the cliff’s sky.
A frozen moment of fear may come
and it may become a mini-monument of small stone.
We should envy its sacred shell moment
when we see it, crackling eyes, legs reaching
for heaven, holding the last sight of us.
It fidgets in its foraging on my fine leaves,
eyes boring into the big blue world,
face lengthening as the evening advances.
It turns its faces from us and finds a place,
like wooden box, or curving cavern
so it does not have to see us. We close our eyes
and only then are we alone, but, yet, watched in ways,
even if blind, we’re conscious of the watcher’s wrath.
Author notes
an ant
Written June 13th, 2006
In a list
A contest entry
- Brilliant Poems about Ordinary Things by Melodies.
300 points, ended June 24, 2006, 19 entries
Bronze trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
What did you think
Comments
1 - 8 of 8
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thank you alsanlight, so nice to see you again. I ahve never seen so many ants as here in Maine. the sandy soil close tot he ocean is surely their favorite. They march throught he hosue as if it were their summer holiday spot. And they are big...really big ants. for some reason,t hey ahve decided a trail up the wall near my computer is improtant.
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I haven't felt this fascinated with ants since I used to squash them with my thumb when I was a kid (and I'm truly sorry now!). Thoughtful, inspiring and full of interesting concepts to wander into. You're truly on form SheWolf!
Georgia
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Thank you, Chase. I lvoed taking a microscopic-poetric look at the ant.
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I really liked this part:
It is there, in the grass, staring,
all bug-eyed in threat, bald and crooked,
mouth full manna fallen from its heaven.
A singular crusade, a crowd of one,
crawling along the cement.
Those lines are great.
-Chase -
thank you bubble-licious. I think, somewhere in my heard, was the movie that I always showed my students when talking about industriousness and about Keeping in mind that even bugs are sacred.
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amazing
Very cute! I love it. Ants are so annoying, but not appreciated at all. They lead tough lives, too! It shows a lot of reality in an ant's life. Great job, and good luck! -
Thank you, I have been battling ants all spring.....a rainy day comes and they decide to camp in. Hee hee.
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OOOoooooo.....An ant's life is not so good. As I read your most excellent poem I was reminded of how many ants live in my yard and try to get in my house, and how I am ever killing them. If they live a full life, how long is that, anyway? Nobody gets very fond of them, even with a kid's ant farm. You have certainly written a compelling poem about ants THAT I LIKE A LOT! Here is your
for writing a really TERRIFIC POEM!
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