Dr Fixit (051 - 060)

 051

our route into another tale and on her wagon

I sat real cool like an heron

 catwalking on the back of a cow

for food or fun. Outside, the bough

of a tree was creaked by the breeze.

An owl hooted in the distance and a long hiss

a cricket made. My grandma went on

with her tale: 'Every army ant was a champion

whose exploits the other beings would mention

even in the remotest nook about our ambition


052

'quite tall in every sphere of life though our size

is quite minute. Without wings, we did rise

above the tallest trees and fall on all below like

the paratroopers and everyone took to flight, the kite

and the cobra. Even the lion succumbs

to intimidation when we fight. Myriad of tongues

wagged about our prowess in building tunnels

and how in the downpour we channeled

our goods safely to our storehouse.

With oneness to every occasion we'd rouse.


053

'Humans copied us and stopped dwelling in the cave,

built their homes and added features that would save

their food. They copied the birds in their nests

for luxuries like their pillows and vests.

But the army ants were famous for bravery

which humans copied to build their military

but the termites, long pushed to the background,

decided having heard the whisper of the sound 

from the army ants' camp they were bent

to build a skyscraper and didn't relent


054

'that they'd be the very first to do it

and put in bold letters as an eternal feat.

While the army ants daily roamed and gathered

good food to feed their frames, the termites entered

into an agreement they would with an iron-clad will

start their project pronto. The ground they did drill

and lay the foundations for the skyscraper

and sourced steadfastly for materials to raise it higher

They'd resolved to eat dead wood when hunger

on their bellies knocked so they wouldn't hamper


055

'their project by the trek in search of meat.

Daily, the army ants wished to make the feat

of erecting the first high-rise in the jungle

but they would run and leap on rocks and bramble

to bring the meat to their storehouse

they'd dine richly upon with smiles on their brows.

The termites slogged it out, quenching their hunger

with wood and with no idle chatter

gave away their secret. Then, the entire jungle

woke up one morning to hear the flying squirrels rumble


056

'from tree to tree not anymore about the fame 

of the army ants of how here and there they'd tamed

everyone and everything - from human to insect,

up and down and oh, how like human-made rocket

they'd move into outer space if they had wings

and check to see if there are extra-terrestrial beings

but the flying squirrels were spreading the news

which left the army ants in the blues

that the termites were the first set of beings

to erect a skyscraper in the jungle. The kings,


057

'queens and every subject of insect and animal kingdoms

trooped out to the spot to gain wisdom

from the famed act of the termites who'd foregone

the things that would've stalled their doggone

ambition to create a first in architecture

and grant themselves a famed and enviable stature.

If it is true, as it is widely rumoured in Antburg,

that humans recently had copied the tiny bugs

and built replicas of the termites'edifice,

then focus is a virtue and enviable feats


058

'can be achieved by the one who has it.'

The storytime ended as a drizzle on the roof beat.

I nodded as the moral of my grandma's tale

sank into my head. So the army ants did fail

to garner a first because of consuming passion

to eat lavishly and the ambition

of the termites towered and soared to fruition

for they made focus anthem in their tuition?

I nodded even in my dream to make

focus my inner vest. Across Yellow Lake


059

the next day, the sun shone bright.

I woke up, relaxed, having slept tight

through a downpour - the wet leaves and ground

gave the tell-tale signs. Then. up in my crown

I remembered all that grandma told me last night

and realized it was time to do things right.

When I woke up, it was time to greet,

'Ahmehsiereh?' or 'Ahmehdemmeh?' to anyone I'd meet

and if an elder, add: 'Ma' or 'Ehteh'  at the end.

'Ehteh' means man or father while the same


060

is 'Ma' as in English lexicon. As people greet

'Good morning' in English, in Antish when we meet 

in the morning, we ask the lucky one whose feet

walk the earth again a question as it's a feat

to wake up to see a brand new day: 'Have you

woken up?' 'Ahmehsiereh ndeh?' 'Ndeh' means too.

The person you greet is asking you the same question

in reply. Others in reply have another option:

'Eh, mmeh demmeh. Hedem ahfo?' This means

'Yes, I've woken up. How is your body?' The chat then leans


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dr Fixit (001 - 010)

Image
001 I’m working on a tale excitingly long. Trust me, you’d savour it and click your tongue. I was born between Generation X and Z when humans landed on the moon and could see their earthly mansions from there; the jet and computer age where mail from one gadget to another is delivered in quick seconds and bent to get to Mars are many nations. I’m racing too to get to that angle but my tale starts from the heart of the jungle.   002 I’m an army ant of great repute bent to enrich the world with my input from my native knowledge and acquired wisdom: with these, all reading me should blossom. I arrived in this world at the start of the rains when land cleared is sowed with grains and the brownish earth sprouts green leaves and busy atop these are insects like bees. I grew to play with the insects – the grasshopper, wasp and butterfly: I was stunned the caterpillar   003 turned to it and this made me curious; my curiosity led me to topics quite serious. I would look at myself and e...
Read more

Dr Fixit (011 - 020)

Image
011 Who strayed to the forest on Ahdet, the rest day, had themselves to blame as they were flown away by the gods who prowled every forest track, the brook and river on that day. They were back after sacrifices by the medicine man, ahbeah hebuck, were offered to appease the land and its custodians. The folks of the generation of my grandma revered nature and its regulation they observed. In school, I was taught a week had seven days in it, six for work and the meek   012 gathered together and worshipped a deity with a big heart who’d overlook their impiety. Unlike grandma’s gods who’d abduct anyone immediately they’d strayed from the norm, this deity was full of grace and suffused his followers with it – they took it or refused. School would teach one thing, home another provide: my young mind bestrode the divide. At home, I heard of uhwa hetierba, reincarnation. In school, it was, judgment, paradise and perdition. 013 ‘Uhwa’ means ‘life’ and ‘hetierba’ means ‘seven’. I heard of ‘a...
Read more

Dr Fixit (021 - 030)

Image
021 meaning ‘ proverb or parable ’ a n d ‘ ahbasee ’ means ‘ god ’ so storytelling – from what I see – was a profound thing throughout the clans  and the storyteller to pass on to the ants a moral tasked their brains and common folks tended to believe these tales were invoked by aligning with the gods. ‘There lived a man,’ Grandma went on, lowered the wick of the lamp and sat on the bed beside me, my side touching her leg for safety against the tide 022 which was unpredictable. If rough and dark, I knew I had my grandma watching my back. ‘How was he?’ This was the traditional response showing the listeners’ interest and bonds with the wakefulness of the storyteller. ‘He had stepped into the shoes of his father who'd just passed on. He received a big farm. He was charming and lived on Timebound Island . Where he lived, the breeze ruffled the palm fronds and lovely birds visited the garden at the front   023 ‘where a boulevard ...
Read more