Ants And The Lessons They Teach Poem by Valsa George

Ants And The Lessons They Teach

Rating: 4.5


In a cluttered heap
Under an empty tin
Settled a colony of black ants
Neither annoyed by raging heat
Nor drenched in pouring rain
With intrusion from nowhere,
They thrived on as a single swell.

The happy residents of this peaceful abode
Never deterred by distractions any
Survival, being their sole intent
Work in unison to meet their needs.
Some, like warriors, guard their nest
While others go foraging food
Each having his assigned role
And none fattening on another's sweat
A gracious queen here rules the nest,
Neither despotic nor imperious
Staying inside, patiently laying eggs
Knowing, they thrive on increased number.

Within the colony, they look a wobbling mass
Often as black paint, carelessly daubed
Almost glued to a fixed space
They hardly move or run around.
If on a sudden, an invasion arises
In an instant, they burst into thousands
And run helter- skelter
Hunting for a new settlement

As the initial commotion subsides
They fall into an unbroken line
Each carrying in its tiny mouth
Their budding progeny in milky white
Those specks of white in larva form
And march headlong for pastures, new.

Swift is their evacuation
Majestic is their migration
Oh, what fun! Watching this exodus of black army
March solemnly to their destination!

Though there exists an abysmal gap
Between the mighty men and these tiny ants
What valuable lessons they oft teach
That put we brags to utter shame

Among the umpteen lessons, they glibly teach
If we could just emulate the cardinal ones;
Their spirit of harmony and collective work
No doubt, mankind would be a happier lot!

POET'S NOTES ABOUT THE POEM
A simple poem on black ants.
It is interesting to watch them, especially when they are disturbed. The moment, they smell danger, the colony breaks up and they head for new destinations, leaving no single egg or larva behind!
COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Chandra Thiagarajan 09 September 2012

We have all observed the ants and their harmonious collective work and wondered at them.But it took a poet like you to bring it out in this lovely fashion.A good write.Thanks and wishes best.

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Valerie Dohren 09 September 2012

Ants are very industrious creatures and are indeed fascinating and interesting to observe, and yes we humans could learn a lot from them, and certainly from other creatures too. Great write.

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Joseph Anderson 09 September 2012

A very thorough descriptive write about the habits of ants-hope they weren't termites, They seemed as busy as our bees..-A lesson here, we need their frugality

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The higher level of euo-social behaviour among the lower animals has ever been a fascinating study for man. The saddest fact is that our intelligence deprives us human beings of all these uncanny shows of true social trait. But everything is compensated as we can quote and inspire others. The inability to defend themselves is the result of their lack of knowledge pertaining to a world of sudden reverses. They must be excused here for they teach us more and not display much of their inferiority. It is a poem which is a tribute paid to the little ants which have never changed and it is a poem with didactic dimension too.

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Sreelekha Premjit 10 September 2012

the way you have captured the lives of the ants is equally interesting.

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Kumarmani Mahakul 18 December 2018

Ants are disciplined, diligent and industriieux. They have unity. The ants in charge of defence never hasitate to sacrifice their lives. They know danger by smelling and leaves their colony for new destinations, leaving no single egg or larva behind. We have to lerarn more from them though they are small in size in comparision to us.Your last stanza says much about it. A marvellous poem is shared amazingly.10

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Glen Kappy 11 September 2018

something i learned from thinking about ants and bees, valsa, is that institutions per se are not bad. they exist in part to organize their activities. i still think, however, that they are bad when they have lost or outlived their original usefulness or purpose and do anything, however destructive, to survive. such, i think, are oil companies who represent a mode that needs to pass but maintain their grip on governments. -glen

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Loke Kok Yee 31 October 2015

all creatures are able to live in harmony except mankind Thanks Valsa this poem is lovely-10

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Akhtar Jawad 01 October 2014

Among the umpteen lessons, they glibly teach If we could just emulate the cardinal ones; Their spirit of harmony and collective work No doubt, mankind would be a happier lot! A minute observation and lovely description with an universal message.

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Deepak Kumar Pattanayak 30 August 2014

A great tribute to such tiny souls from whom a lot of wisdom mankind needs to imbibe....may be little ones their team work and discipline in every way unparalleled......Valsa.....and your presentation so lively and down-to- earth.....you deserve more than 10

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