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The Way of the Ant
By
Afriyie Assamany "Mac Scene"
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Up the wall it moves, oblivious to everything around it, taking the circuitous route in the way that only ants do, it's destination known only to itself. I watch in awe, wishing I were that ant, with nary a worry in the world. Or so? I do not know, so I cannot say for sure. But I still wish I were the ant. Better yet... I raise my right foot and bring it close to where the wall, close to where the ant is. My foot lingers for a moment, tracing the little creature's route, and finally comes to rest right over the tiny shape. It senses something amiss, but alas it is too late, my foot moves toward it even as the ant tries to back away. It's bye bye life for this ant. Just like that, there's one less ant in the world. I wonder if this makes me an evil person... have I just made a widow out of a pretty little woman ant somewhere? Orphans out of cute little baby ants elsewhere? I laugh at the absurdity of my thoughts. Meanwhile the creature has fallen off the wall, and I notice it trying to move. Hmmm, I wonder, it's not dead yet. Should I put it out of its misery or leave it to maybe recover its health by some miracle. My foot moves over it one last time and comes crashing down. This time it is still. I feel a lot less guilty, for I just helped it by putting it out of its woeful misery.
My life is a wreck. In reality my only common trait with the downed ant is in the way it moved. The way which to humans looks aimless, but possibly to the subject species has some meaning. It knew where it was headed. That I do not have in common with the former ant. The common trait is in the motion, not the knowledge of the destination. I cannot look in any certainty a day ahead and say where my life is headed. I envy the ant. I wish I had been it. I will walk up a wall, only to be crushed by a human foot. My meaningless life extinguished without as much as a thought on the part of my executioner. But for now, I will be human, and I will study the way of the ant, and maybe one day, I will see my destination.
Author: Afriyie Assamany “Mac Scene”
Email: aassamany@hotmail.com
