by The Cowl Editor on November 19, 2018
Poetry
by Garbiela Baron ’20
I am the worker ant.
My job is simple:
provide for my winged majesty and her offspring.
My queen’s size is twice mine.
Fertile, strong, and powerful;
she is vital to the survival of the community.
Today I journey with the troops.
Together: a mighty machine.
Separate: miscellaneous parts.
A predator passes…
we dive into the muddy earth, camouflaged from the enemy.
Will it find me?
Silence—
then the sky erupts with clear droplets.
The bombs shake the earth.
The sun wages war against the clouds,
its rays of light pierce through with victory.
We continue on our journey through the moist ground and find
a new battlefield:
mother and child on a red and white plaid blanket.
They surround a cornucopia of treasure:
an array of Swiss cheese slices, plump plums, and chicken salad sandwiches.
The objective is ahead; the troops take action.
The sunlight disappears, obstructed by a new cloud:
doughy hands hovering over me.
Will I escape unharmed?
One by one the soldiers around me
fall.
I—the last one standing—cannot surrender.
I dodge the offensive,
determined to fight for the colony.
With a crumb on my back I march forward in triumph;
the weight pulls me down
but I keep walking.
I am the worker ant
My job is not simple.
I am vital to the survival of the community.