Michael Coy Poet Rhyme

In Praise of Termites

The termite culture's rich and vast, 
more so, sometimes, than humankind, 
with martyrs and mujahideen, 
and projects ponderous yet precise, 
and back-up plans, a hundredfold. 
How do they do it? 

Society is based on caste, 
with tasks and territory assigned 
by social rank. Some watch, some wean, 
some whittle, weave, ward off, entice, 
while food for all is fairly doled. 
How do they do it? 

Their architecture's unsurpassed, 
with geodesic shapes, designed 
with opulence almost obscene, 
and altruists. Self-sacrifice 
is common. And they mine for gold! 
How do they do it? 

Hardly least and never last, 
over her subjects (all of them blind) 
there reigns a massive, fertile queen, 
releasing pheromones (how nice!) 
She lives to forty-five years old! 
How do they do it?

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Darren White April 1, 2017 at 4:33 AM We are a breed of (sometimes) wasps, competitive warlike hive mind creatures though we think we're individualistic. We're ruled by pheromones although we think we do the choosing. We choose, we do, but what rules us? Michael Coy April 1, 2017 at 5:00 AM Precisely, my friend!