A Common Delusion by Gary Pandolfi, a Poem

A Common Delusion

Contrary
to popular opinion,
there is no such thing
as an ant.
There is only ants.
To consider this creature as individual
denies the singularity
of its plurality;
demonstrates a complete
misunderstanding of its nature.
My confident colleague,
eager to set me right,
gingerly grasps an example.
“Here, between my thumb and index finger,
I hold an ant.”
I make great show
of examining his holding
before I break the news:
“That, dear friend,
is a piece of ants.”

Copyright 2007, Gary Pandolfi. © This work is protected under the U.S. copyright laws. It may not be reproduced, reprinted, reused, or altered without the expressed written permission of the author.

A graduate of Wesleyan University's MALS program, Gary Pandolfi has taught English for more than three decades. This is his first poem in “a legitimate online journal.” Recently he contributed a chapter in Sharon Kleinman’s new book, Displacing Place: Mobile Communications in the Twenty-First Century.