The small black ant (one of those who always
Seem to be in a hurry and are wonderfully aware
Of your finger inches away; not worth killing, but
Nevertheless are killed in their thousands
When housewives empty sugar into the burning sun
Or when stuck in sweet sticky liquids, drowning)
Was dragging backwards across
The black-and-white picture of George Washington
In my history book (over his nose to be exact)
Four centimetres of a dragonfly
Minus one wing, the other crumpled of its colour;
Whose body grey and dry was only last night,
When in a fit of peevishness, trying hard to concentrate
On a jumble of battles and dates, I had struck it
Spinning in a wild buzz against the table-lamp shade,
Purple and green and alive with a mad magic.
Four segments of the tail curled up to tickle a nostril,
But G. Washington remained as dignified as ever
(Though his eyes looked accusing at me) . I should not
Have done it, not have taken the corpse
And carrier hanging determinedly on, waving six legs,
Placed them in the index at the end of the book,
And stamped them.
Six months later the perfect impression,
Just above Trafalgar,232,260,
Of the little drama I had witnessed that morning
In May, presented itself like Something
Not Very Bad.
Indeed, I regretted the loss of the other wing.
Excellent story Tan, I must say I did feel sorry for the Ant though. Melvina
'I should not Have done it, not have taken the corpse And carrier hanging determinedly on, waving six legs, Placed them in the index at the end of the book, And stamped them.' This is brilliant! lol I loved this poem, despite of their sad demise. Shannon
Great poem with a terrific ending and excellent description of the ant throughout. This is my favorite poem of yours so far.
Thanks for asking me to look at some of your work i like this one so far and i plan on looking at some more Some of your other work i have looked at lost me in some of the words you used This is only to say, I am the simple one
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Tan, Bienvenu! That's the french version of welcome & most assuredly you are welcomed here at PH. This reminded me of my earlier approach to the poetic field of endeavour. Highly observant & descriptive. Two requisites to becoming a prominent poet. Sincerely, GWG