Tiny little ceatures,
Tramped on every day
Doesn’t matter what you do
They just won’t stay away!
Nothing seems to scare them,
Nothing makes them sick.
They just appear from nowhere
An army... a thousand thick!
One tiny crumb, so miniscule
In an minute it’s surrounded
Each taking home a little piece,
Telling others where they found it.
We squish ‘em with our fingers.
Flatten ‘em with our fists,
Still they keep a-coming.
Putting me in a frenzied fit
A cloth soaked in boiling water
Helps some meet their demise.
But there’s always more to take their place
No matter how you try.
Everything from surface spray,
To ant traps... borax and honey
Still the little blighters trudge on.
In spite of repellants that cost us money.
So perhaps we should take notice
Of this tiresome little beast
And maybe learn a lesson
From its stubborn, tenacious streak.
It never hesitates or falters,
When adversity sets it back
It has a target, and pursues it
Staying relentlessly on track.
So if you have an objective
And the path ahead’s unyielding
Remember the creatures who trudge on
And never contemplate conceding.
J.M. Furner
A shortened version of this poem is being published by Poetry.com
in an anthology of Poems in late 2001.
It's also going to be included on a CD Trilogy
for the visually impaired.
Needless to say I was very excited with the news!
Created 19 May 2000