Killing the Ants 1 You’re working at the counter, spreading mustard And mayonnaise on luscious sandwiches, When here are ants: sleek, shiny, black, unflustered, Guided by pheromonal messages, Moving in lines along the counter’s lip Which criss and cross like braids to bring both food And information back to, bit by bit, The colony. You find you’re in the mood To squish and squash, and many ants soon squirm Half-dead, headless, legless, blind, dark goo, writhe, Thorax distorts, the garbage can an urn. You have become Big Death (grim robe, black scythe) Crushing the little exoskeletons, Black husks returning to the elements. Killing the Ants 2 (Using Store-Bought Bait) You’ll need the ants to smell the bait and eat Some and return their sick and poisoned selves Exhausted to the writhing hill and feed The sugared bait to any ant that delves The hill, but most of all the sluttish Queen Whose flagrant reproduction angered you And caused the colony to swarm and teem And dig a deep inverted Xanadu, And so you wait for several patient days, Leaving the ants alone. Know less is more: Do not disturb the lines of ants with sprays, Less poison will get carried to the core. Soon you’ll look for another hill to snuff. Killing this colony won’t be enough.
Wes Civilz is a poet, who is featured in many publications, primarily this one, who also plays the “Other Guy” in “Me and My Victim.” You can find Wes Civilz on Instagram
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