Hello everybody! We’re in the midst of preparing to move from Iowa to Washington State, so everything is in the sort of chaos only experienced by aquarium fish when then tank water gets changed. Lots of silt getting stirred up, literally and figuratively.
This poem came to me this morning. I think it’s one of those Hey dummy, look around you messages that my poet-self sometimes sends me. Or maybe I am reading into it. What do you think?
ever find yourself
covered in ants?
you think you didn't leave
anything out, always
cleaned up after yourself
plugged every possible hole
and in the end used poison,
mild first, then progressively toxic
more and more and more
until the ants are no longer
the problem, though there were still
plenty of them because now
you feel sick all the time
and still the mindless little fuckers
keep marching in, keep swarming
over your arms and feet and hands,
and you know that killing them individually
is impossible so there you are
sleepless now, stumbling in the dark
with your flashlight pointed at the ground
in the vain search for the nest
you know you can't destroy
because you know the ants outnumber humans
hell they outweigh them
and your fight against them
is yet another fight against yourself.
First of all: This poem resonates personally and nationally for me. I would bet that many of us feel covered in ants these days, with no good way yet to destroy the nest.
Second of all: A move to Washington State sounds so nice after another long-ass Midwest winter. Best wishes to you and the family -- I hope you land in just the right place.
aw, thanks Kelly! Super excited about the move.