16 May 2010

Recipe for Ridding the World of Ants

As if.

Up one arm
down the other
I don’t have the heart
to pinch the little mother
to its death
or grind my foot
into its tiny black form.
Gently between thumb and
forefinger I fling it to the floor.
The cats don’t even bother
to eat them any more
they’ve become another fixture
of this urban house’s lore.

I hate the ants, despise them
and can poison them just fine.
But to personally pummel them?
Spirit urges my decline.

In my husband’s Ohio childhood
his grandpa Lendy poured gasoline
into anthills all over the yard.
He lit it. Whoosh!
Flames shot up from anthills,
Earth lifted and fell
Whump!
Everywhere Len looked little miracles
exploded legions of ants.

They came back.

They will always come back.

When human beings fade in Earth’s memory,
ants will tunnel through the rubble of our lives.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Sunday Scribblings prompt is recipe. I started optimistic, but quickly realized that there will never be a foolproof recipe to rid the world of ants. Nonetheless, another ant piece emerged.

11 comments:

anthonynorth said...

They certainly will - shivering.
Nicely done.

Marianne said...

Oh my! You have written about the most mundane of subjects, ants, and given us a grand poem! Well done!

Denise Moncrief said...

loved this post. i have a similar distaste for the little bleeps. they (whoever they are) say only roaches will survive nuclear winter, but i'm inclined to believe ants will rule the rubble!

Tammy Brierly said...

I enjoyed this and I can relate. Loved the last couplet.

Tumblewords: said...

You are so right - they will always be here. Great poem!

Old Egg said...

We have ants galore in the garden but they leave us very much alone in the house. Their favourite game is to attack us in force when clothes are put out on the washing line. They consider the paving there very much their own territory.

Excellent poem and the ending so true as their communities always work together!

Dee Martin said...

In Texas we have fire ants. I HATE them. They find me and bite me when no one else is bothered! I can stomp them with no remorse!

Understanding Alice said...

ha, ants 1 humans 0 :)

brenda w said...

Thanks everyone for reading my words, and for your supportive comments! :)

Now if we can just figure out a way to channel our hatred into a destructive force against ants!

Dee- Sorry about the fire ants...thank goodness for cold Montana winters!!

Anonymous said...

My Dearest Brenda,

You are fastly becoming such a favorite of mine.

Sincerely,
Dina

brenda w said...

Dina,

Your kindness and support bring smiles.

Thanks ~Brenda