Ants Poem by Prayag Saikia

Years ago I'd began to watch the trains of ants
I was stirred by their confluence
And scenes of picking of victuals.

One day I came to know
Ants too have their slaves
At times of war their priority rests
On food and serfdom.

Gradually the tiny ants
Began to appear as tiny men
The little mounds beside the tunnel-mouths
Seemed like little pyramids

Ceasing to write poems on food and bonds
I've kept my pen
Pointing at the pharaohs of ants
Amid the ants' Jews
I mark their Moses

I haven't seen the ants
Heading across the seas
For Jerusalem
Only in the ant-laden world of men
I hear the Pharaoh's cold command-
Banish the Moses of academics
From the wide world's history


(Translated from orginal Assamese by Krishna Dulal Baruah)