Green Ant. Poem by Geoffrey Fafard

There lives in this part of the world
A fighting and uneven tempered ant
That inhabits the trees and gardens
Of the tropic green places
They have a code—bite everything
Before it bites you-hang on tenaciously-
Never let go even if immanent death
Directly looks you in the eye-
Protect your queen for she made you-
Never leave a fallen brother-
Take no prisoners-sting, bite, fight.
When you fight them, they emit a citrus oil
That strongly perfumes the air around the trees
leaving a follow up signal for their troops
I love them and respect them and although
As a gardener I do battle with them
I have been known to rescue their Queens
And move them to safety-Why?
Because although monstrous in size
And grotesque in design the queens are
Gentle and harmless to handle
They have soft souls
And if I handle them calmly the soldiers back off
Then quietly stroll off me to the Queens new site
No biting, no to the death fighting, no hatred
They are just creatures of nature
Existing in the green just, you know,
Like me…..!