She said that she was hanging by a thread
Find yourself a tree I said
Some dirt
Sit awhile
Close your eyes
And listen for the song of the ants
Lifting several times their body weight
They come
Plying bitten off leaves
The seeds of grass and flowers
Working together
Their communities are powerful
They do what they shouldn’t possibly be able
By listening to the earth
Remaining stable
As the humans above
Spin
Out of control
Our great big brains tuned in
To the echoes of thoughts that have been thought and thought and thought
For a Millenia
Where has it got us?
Sitting in the dirt
Back to a tree
Waiting for the grounded wisdom of ants
To rise up through the leaves
And permeate
Even the thickest of skulls
*header photo taken when I dropped morning tea down to Steve this morning. I like to sit down with him, he likes it too. I saw these colours, like an abstract painting. Everything is art.
Love your poem. Well said. We humans have forgotten what it’s like to work together, like the humble ant, for a common goal. “Our great big brains” are so tuned into our own sense of greatness and entitlement, that we’ve lost whatever control we ever had over our lives. Have a great weekend 🙂 It’s a three-day holiday weekend here for America’s Independence Day celebrations.
Thanks Rosaliene, yes ants can teach us much as can the entire natural world, I find it deeply relaxing, enjoy your week-end too.
I really enjoyed this!
Thanks! It came from a reply I wrote to Karla on Insta and then I was like – hey there is a poem in that 😊
Haha, it’s great how your creative urges find their inspiration and their outlet!
Creativity is my life blood – I’m cleaning the pool this morning and I tell you I’m just not feeling it – especially how it is winter and I don’t get to swim at the end but then I just told myself how damn lucky I am to have a pool and to quit my bitchin.. maybe there is a poem in the bottom of the murk somewhere 😬
Knowing you, there’s probably several lines of verse already assembling themselves in your head 😉
😂😂
Loved this! Absolutely loved it!!
Oh hello Grace! Thank-you, nice time hear from you, will have to pop over and see what you have been up to. 😊
Again I can really resonate with this poem, thanks for sharing. Let’s take our lead from the ants 👌
And bees 🐝 bees are community conscious too ❤️
Oh totally agree, bees are the best! Not entirely sure about magpies and kangaroos community consciousness but I think they may have something for us too 🤔❤️
Magpies are terribly clever little beings – I’m sure kangaroos are too or so people tell me that have hand reared joeys.
Really beautiful and powerful poem. I love the photo too, it does indeed look abstract.
The meaning in your piece is thoughtful and again, powerful. It’s interesting that in nature’s endeavors, there is a mystifying element in structure on how insects function, along with animals. Great piece!
Hi Lucy – Yes! Bees fascinate me, ants, even termites – they are so busy and focused. They all look out for their communities and seem to live for the greater good. If we could model our society on this ethos we would heal many problems. Thanks for your thoughtful comment 😊
Your words encouraged me yesterday and today, they are cemented in my heart. It’s with nature I feel the most grounded. Thick skulls rarely understand miracles. If only the strength and teamwork of ants could be evident in us “above the dirt dwellers”. This piece will be printed and reread for years to come. ❣️💚
Thanks Karla, it stuck in my head when I wrote it as well. Some poems don’t they seem to come out and then I nearly forget I’ve written them. Looking back through my blog I am sometimes surprised at them. I hope I remember it too 😊unfortunately our brains are leaky buckets for this sort of thing.
Love it. Visual and textual. Lovely.
Thanks Lynn 😊
Reblogged this on Momentary Lapse Of Sanity.
Thank you!