It's like this, you see ...
I fell off a lemon tree branch
out of the clouds
onto a jumper ants' nest
beside a Summer Red gum tree
at my grandfather's place
and the ants bit me
and they stung
quite a lot, really.
My grandfather lives on a Range
and how was I to know there were jumper ants
as well as brown snakes and spiders
ready to bite.
So now I wear jeans
and squash toads with my boots.
Nobody minds.
Toads are toads and unliked
even by frog lovers like me.
So, it's like this you see ...
if I'd not been stung by ants
I would not squash toads.
Author notes
My computer is not working so that I am using Grandad's. I took a photo of Grandad beside his 'Red Summer Eucalypt' tree. That is near the back fence near a cliff where the jumper ants are.
A contest entry
- Darwin, Charles by whitecoffee.
1100 points, ended July 22, 13 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 10 of 10
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I have been bitten by stinging red ants. Fire Ants.
I live in the Northeast USA, near Boston.
I squash grubs between my fingers when I garden.
I hate grubs.
I love your poem! Funny and full of life!
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This made me smile big. Thank you so much for entering it. I love this style of poetry.
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I wonder if there is a boy who has never been bitten by ants. I think
that is pretty universal for we all tend to have a sense of wonder about
how things works around us. I once took apart a large piano so I could
see all the details of how it made music, but I wasn't able to put it back
together again. I got in trouble for that one, but I did learn a lot about
how it worked...
In USA there are red ants, black ants and even a red and black ant.
In the south they have fire ants that can really sting bad. When I was
young I used to watch ants for hours and how the black and red ants
used to fight. Even though the red ants are much smaller they still used
to give the big black ants a good fight. That taught me it isn't so much
about ones size as it is about how never giving up. Failure only comes
when we quit, so keep on keeping on...
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This is a very sweet poem. Nasty biting ants and snakes as well as squishy toads. Yucky yucky. Loved reading about them though
Well done 
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This is very well done. You kept me reading on until the end. I enjoyed reading this poem. It's very amusing.
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Making me smile!!
Would you please allow me to post this very entertaining poem on the poetry blog I run for a newspaper in California, USA? It is called "Poetry Planet" and we get hundreds of hits a day! People all over the world would love reading your poem. I really do like this poem... great images! 
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A scary place!
This was a lovely poem, although a bit scary.... Ants that bite and sting, brown snakes and spiders and last but not least toads. Very interesting to read the difference between your surroundings and mine.
I wish you and your family (brother, parents and grandparents, uncle and aunt) a very Happy New Year and lots of inspiration for new poems. Good luck!
Anna.
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good job
Ouch!!!! Ants may be small but they sure can give big bites. I'm sorry this happened to you but I sure enjoyed the way you talk about it. It's nice to read something new of yours again; it's been a while. Thanks for sharing.
Brian
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Thank you
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Toooo Much!!!
Do toads bite too??? I'm sorry about your traumatic experience but you tell it so well that I had to laugh. Don't be mad at me, I've fallen out of trees and have been bitten by a lot of bugs too. Red ants sting like the devil! Anyway, I don't think you're quite the nature lover that you used to be
I think I understand, though. Your logic is hilarious
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