Ant
“…the ants switched tasks. They switched in some directions but not in others. The general pattern is a flow of workers into foraging from all other tasks. The flow seems to originate with the nest maintenance workers, and once an ant leaves nest maintenance work, it will not go back.” – Deborah Gordon, Ants At Work, p. 126.
I have graduated
from feeding the pupae and the antlings
repairing and tidying
thoroughfares and tunnels
to the outside
(thank God I’m not a captive queen)
where I mount patrol
make rounds of Facebook, email, Twitter,
monitor technology and trends
forage freelance information
broadcast on the billboard of my blog.
But such a promotion
does not mean I get to skip
doing the domestic chores
in my egalitarian colony.
© 2014 by Violet Nesdoly
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Interesting creatures, ants! Smart too. Who would guess they have a work hierarchy. Actually, I enjoy tending to the domestic chores of my little colony. Especially when there are antlings around!
This poem is linked to Poetry Friday, hosted today by Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe.
Violet Nesdoly 
Reblogged this on Science & Faith Matters and commented:
Ah, the life of an ant!
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Aww, thanks for the re-blog, Kim! Ants are fascinating creatures!
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Ha! I loved the twist in the center of the poem from insect-ant to Violet-ant!
Although ants are fascinating, we witnessed this week a swarm of carpenter ants emerging from the base of the big old oak tree in our front yard and heading for a new home in our garage. Sorry to say that many ants have died in our front yard this week. And we are concerned for the health of the tree…
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Oh Mary Lee, I feel for you. I sure understand why you don’t want them as near neighbors!
On a recent visit to a public garden in Vancouver, the guide pointed out parts that were taped off limits because of an invasion of fire ants. They are not native to our area, but have really taken hold in some places, so that it’s dangerous to sit and linger for fear of bites. Because this park is a botanical garden they don’t use any chemical pesticides so getting rid of them is a real challenge.
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Delightful! We all need a little of everything in our daily lives, I think.
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I’ll never look at an ant the same way again, Violet! = )
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To live in a pink world of a flower!
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Intriguing mix of science and domesticity, Violet! And the clematis is stunning!
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Love your imagination within that clematis. I’ll now look at them in a different way, Violet, imagining all those Facebook ‘friends’ in a more beautiful place than online! We studied so many kinds of ants when I went to Costa Rica with my students. They are busy… And prolific!
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What a fun piece with a fun twist!
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