bitty lit busy
ants stronger than cinder
-block busy moving
~
following the trail
beaten path busy workers
laymen in the grass
8/27/26
written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2026©
On my garage floor, the ants hold daily dance rehearsals~
tiny jitterbugs in helmets, warriors, fearless and universal.
I am delighted that ants are not in our house,
and neither have we seen any sign of a mouse.
The wasps are masters of building nests,
But I must find ways of seeing them less.
There is much about nature that I do not know.
It's often difficult to determine who's friend or foe.
It seems that every insect or pest wants to come
inside our home, quickly reproduce, and hide.
There are many ant piles on my lawn that must go.
I asked them to disappear, but they said, "No".
I keep threating them time after time,
But they look at me like I'm out of line.
I try various products to send them packing,
But they always reply, "We don't think so".
Again, I must say, I'm in no way a pro;
But as they continue their protest,
I guess that I will keep doing my best
to eliminate those piles of ants and other
Unfriendly pests, and co-exist with the rest.
rainbow in the sky
a medley of hues it bears
colours bloom with a swift swirl~
ahead of the downpour
ants, seeking shelter, invade homes.
warm soil for planting
blooming flowers first sunlight
ants on countertop
To the Tiny Ants I Slaughter Every Day
I've been at war with you for some time now.
Your initial assault was impressive, I'll give you that.
Slew you by thousands,
Black swarms down the shower drain.
Now it's down to scouting parties
Up through the sinks every morning.
I drown you, crush you without thought;
Little red smears easily wiped away.
Does your Queen wonder why
Her Probes never return?
Are they, in their last moments
Aware of their immolation?
Are our own cells,
Myriads every second,
Aware of theirs?
Miracles are happening inside those doomed cells
The ants have brains,
Actually the largest by body mass,
Miniscule though they be.
While Out There
In the formless Nothing of Space
There await The Asteroid, The Great Solar Flare
The Giant Gamma Ray Burst
The Wandering Black Hole
To quash the tiny Probes,
To rid the Gods
Of the tiny, tiresome ants.
crawling critters sneaking back and forth
their teamwork frightens me
I Drip Hot Sauce
All Around Where
They Come In...
Because That
Confuses 'Em
And Makes Them
Go Insane.
A Few Get By,
And I Eliminate
'Em Forthwith.
I Want The Kitchen
To Have The Reputation
(For Ants) Of Where
Our Fellow Brothers
Went Insane.
And That's Horrific.
Because I Don't
Really Care About
A Few Ants Very Much.
They Just Bother Me,
Because They Are
Autobot Conformists
Who Only Care About
THEIR Goals... And
Aren't My Enemy,
But Never Care At
All What I Need...
I Have To Be Selfish,
Or I'm Too Mean And
Depressed.
You Know. Grrr.
-Gray Squirrel
12-09-2025
Ants aren't
Elegant
But ants work hard
Strong as steel, lean and lithe
Survive
Ants don't
Grouse and groan
Put themselves first
Self-obsessed, ignorant
Ants aren't
sink full of dishes
rubbish bin overflowing
damp clothes filter through ~
chaos and stars rise
sellotaped window gives smile
Sirius does too ~
dance one step at time
upheaval rises to laugh
floral socks threadbare ~
peanut butter bread
ants eat crumbs while pen cold waits
cracked chaos chortle ~
Mental ants.
Sleepy, creepy, all trembling.
They are like tickling.
Or manifestations.
Ants are alive sometimes.
They take turns being alive.
Sometimes they eat.
So they’re weird.
My mental ants.
Make me as antsy as an apple pie.
Splattering on the ground.
Manifestations.
Sometimes I have dreams about puffs of light air.
They hurry away.
Mental screaming.
If I were broken into pieces:
Each piece of me would grow little antsy legs and antennae.
But also disintegrate at the same time.
That’s all that’s left.
Specks that are resilient.
Training my ants to be helpful.
It makes it worse.
They tell me it’s not possible.
To grow.
Like things that grow.
Mental screaming.
Nothing splatters like it used to.
They don’t try.
Ants on my mind.
Are more than riddles.
But less than real.
Next time I’ll manifest something useful.
Mental ants.
They are more resilient than I’ll ever be.
ANTS EDGING LIFE
Ants quickly crawling,
An anteater chasing them;
Mountain edge ahead:-
miniscule ant
purposeful frenzied movements
i ponder her goal
with-'in tell-all gents'
comes a 'lodged-hic'
that is 'nay-too sure-all'
with respect 'survive-all'
len
Deep gold digging ants, Are they actually ants?, No, ants are miners.
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.