Saturday 16 October 2010

Magpie 36 More to ants than meets the eye.



I'm down here on the floor
my compound eyes
blinded, times over, by the light flooding my domain.
The energy of a million ancestors burning bright.

There's food everywhere
crumbs, scraps, flakes of skin .
And dirt.
I skirt the piles of rubbish,
I ignore the siren calls of dust mites and
head towards the brilliance before me.
I am drawn in that direction.
It is my drones destiny.
My mission:
"feed the masses".
I drag a dead weight,
a corpse,
100 times my mass behind me.

There are two of us on this job.
My pinchers ache.
I can't use my arms or legs
I need maximum traction on the floor.
This is a tough assignment.
We're weaving across the boards like drunks.
Why did we get given this task?
Punishment?


I'm thinking I need to polish up my social skills
in the presence of royalty.

We'll need to dismember this beast
before we can get it past our front door.
And why a daylight run?
Everyone knows its safer at night.

Large pads of flesh land close by my head.
I freeze.
Take evasive action.
Panic!
I've heard the stories of these monsters.
I'm exhausted.
I yearn for a bit of shut eye.

Yesterday I got brushed
into a corner.
A huge moon with eyes and a gaping mouth
breathed a foul odour in my direction
then flicked me,
THUMP!
against the wall and
onto a plastic tray.
My head was spinning
I had the eeerie sense of flying,
breadcrumbs and silt flying beside me
towards a hole deep and dark
My dreams of flying were never like this
spiralling down, flipping end over end
to the bottom of a pit.

It took me the best part of half a day
to find my way back to the human cave.
My task is not complete.

This place is bigger than I remember.
I love the wide open spaces but
this is rdiculous.
Polished floors so shiny
I can see my reflection.
I'm quite impressed with my abdomen
sleek and round.

So here I am
toiling across this great expanse
dragging a corpse.
Again.
I've travelled this path a thousand times.
Always the same path.
I must ask about the allocation of shifts at the next ant forum.

Little wonder my smile is a little pinched.
Years of work, repetition, and high risk take its toll.

© Steve Capelin 2010 . All rights reserved.
For more writing and writers click on the Magpie Tales stamp.

12 comments:

Erratic Thoughts said...

This is one of the best take on the prompt...
" I need to polish up my social skills
in the presence of royalty" Lol..:D:D
Oh whata piece...
Utterly superb Predicament of an ant..."foul odour","gaping mouth","Thumps"...oh I'm sure gonna be more carefull next time i am around one...

Loved it!:):)

Kathe W. said...

the life of an ant is not an easy one! Fun read!

Linda Bob Grifins Korbetis Hall said...

sharp tale.
love ants in general, their life is not easy of course.
beautiful highlight of tiny life.

Lyn said...

I feel you somehow became an ant to write this..a great talent to inhabit another to such a degree...
so imaginative!

Reflections said...

How fun is this take on an ant's hefty load, they're work is never done!

Tess Kincaid said...

I love this, LOVE it! I don't know which line I like more, "large pads of flesh land close by my head" or "I'm quite impressed with my abdomen
sleek and round". Very entertaining read, Steve.

Vinay Leo R. said...

beautiful take.. a balladic form here! but flow not lost anytime!
ah, the ant's life.. never easy I guess! :)

my magpie is ~here~

kathi harris said...

This is very clever ... an ant's point of view.

kathi harris said...

This is very clever ... an ant's point of view.

joanna said...

Creative - artistic and imaginative writing, wealth of rich words and insight into the micro levels of this world, seen through your lens you lead the reader through an open doorway into a fantastic miniature universe.

cheers,
Joanny
http://thedowsersdaughter.blogspot.com/

Unknown said...

let's hear it for the ant!
this was an absolute treat to read...thank you

Marilyn & Jeff said...

I thoroughly enjoyed this glimpse into the thought s and world of an ant. So very well written.