Crush

too many snacks in bed and the ants
from the kitchen moved upstairs to my room.
i think they live under my small bookcase
on my bedside table. there must be
crumbs there or something. i emptied the shelves
and cleaned. i used a spray bottle of
vinegar water on a tip from google.
that didn’t seem to work.

so i gave up on negotiating with the ants and
started crushing them using the
flat edge of a penny. their bodies are
typically gone the next time i look.
i’m imagining the ants eating their
dead or having a serious military
funeral for the fallen.

i have become really good at killing ants
with the penny. you told me that you hate ants.
i will kill all the ants for you so that
you will be more comfortable.

This poem was originally published in print in “Someday Irrelevant” magazine issue one, August 2014, Blacksburg, Virginia.
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