Antwise (Poetry)

I watched the ants
(I was small enough to crouch
down close and intimate)
saw how they worked tightly as a team
cooperated in their busy ways
methodical and wise it seemed to me
even at so young an age

I observed my parents too
together tackling the daily chores
ever-practical and logical
resolving problems for the common good —
the benefit of family

And yet often a daughter’s instinct caught
the growing hint of things unshared
each one labouring to satisfy
a more selfish motivation
even though to other eyes
their double act probably seemed faultless —
a slick performance every public show