Dear Mr. Ant
Annika Elisha
I stepped on an ant
Crushed under my shoe
I can hear the faint cries of the ants
Mourning their fallen brother
I watch them scurry
Hurry
Down the pavement
And then they’re gone
Disappeared
In the cracks in the sidewalk
I peer through one crack
Split
So deep that even in broad daylight you can see a sky full of stars
The place where the ants dance
Spin
Then make haste towards the darkness
Pitch black
I call to them but faster they go
Away from my world gone
Disappeared
For no reason I could see
Maybe the reason the ants dash away
Is me
a human looking down at them from up in the sky
A giant from above
Out for blood
All the ants are gone
Without a trace into the night
And I am very sad to say
I am sorry Mr. Ant for all I did wrong
So I write to you this—a poem
A song
Dear Mr. Ant
The one on my shoe
I dedicate this poem to you
Annika Elisha is in eighth grade at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.