Anthills
Eyes damper than before I hate EGOS.
More THAN People
More THAN Cars
I hate people
like how an ant hill does
that’s at the bottom of the stairs
I hate silver ears
quick to listen but never want to hear
never want to here
I MUST SPEAK SO LOUDLY TO YOU
I mustn’t burden your thoughts any longer
I mustn’t hesitate to ask for space
because honestly it’s killing me
backing me up in balance
where I can’t stand to fall
placing deep deep trenches
inside of me
I HAVE NEVER BEEN WHOLE
Never stop to glorify
my art and assets
I’ll hold my tongue in place
a hole in my Pace
my words rotting my breath
biting my lips in the face of adversity
I am that anthill.
Deeply woven and dug into ground
without even a shovel or spade
I wish I had more GRIT
more GRIT to say I’m tired
of being
an ant hill
under your boot
anticipating the thunder between each step before
I feel your soles coming to crush my foundation
more GRIT to say
I may be small
but damn I want a house
a condo a mansion
one my tiny body can ache
after reaching the top of the staircase
I want a house that says home on the outside
and smells like one on the inside.
I want to be a person.
Treated, looked at, and cared for
LIKE ONE WOULD A PERSON.
cared for like when you don’t step on that….
It took years for your mother to leave the abuse
EGOS weighing down on your mother’s spine
her calcium tilting her crown
she only looks up at her king
it’ll break your mama’s back the way she cares for you like that.
Through her eyes;
This Anthill Is Best She’s Got!
And no matter how many soles break the foundation
she’s rebuilt this anthill for you.
So you can one day be
the corporal ant in charge
conducting the search for Life,
the meaning of curiosity.
Be that corporal ant in the cupboard
leading the way along.
All along your mother trying to
piece together her anthill
in the back of the line.
I am that anthill smooshed and spread so thin.
striving to be that mansion
to be the best and biggest version of myself
the version of myself that has grit
my Foundation has never been solid
it is a fact I’ve come to accept.
My anthill blooms between the crevices
of the east side
slightly tilted from childhood
My anthill was always dug up,
pranced apun,
fried,
drowned,
leaked,
stomped, choked,
before I had the awareness
The sun beamin’ on my skin
slowly adding September to my width and my anthill
My thoughts, creations, and vibrations,
carrying little pieces of earth
to the surface to birth me.
A sliver of sunlight touches my pupils every time
A piece of thought flows
in and out
I am burying so deep but it’s never deep enough
I can barely scratch the surface
before I get close to my mother
Swallow me up again
maybe
if I dig deep enough My Foundation
will not only be My Sanctuary
maybe
I could hear mother’s gentle song
while I drift into sleep and play
Copyright © 2024 by AluTru Kayla Steward. Originally published in Poem-a-Day on August 29, 2024, by the Academy of American Poets.