With Ants - edit

[dukealien]

With Ants


With ants I reach for poison
not because it reaches them
where they hide   
nor because to crush ants
isn’t challenging
(though it’s true
to swat a fly affirms both skill
and my hegemony);
there’s little danger
(as when spraying wasps)
for ants are individually
harmless in my house—
no, like some Middle East
dictator dropping barrel bombs
I spray ants who want to live
in my domain
for they’re many
won’t be bidden
and I can.

With ants I reach for poison
not because it reaches them
in places where they hide   
nor because to crush them
isn’t challenging
(although it’s true
to swat a fly successfully
affirms both skill
and my hegemony);
there’s little danger
as when spraying wasps
for ants are individually
harmless in my sight—
no, like some Middle East
dictator dropping barrel bombs
I spray ants who want to live
in my house
because they’re many
won’t be bidden
and I can.