Warrior Red-Ants

I crushed some warrior-ants to death, And wondered what, others would do; And very promptly, came more ants To investigate scene of crime! These ants build nests upon the trees, By gluing leaves with strange substance; Their nests look like army barracks, With sentry-ants guarding smartly! The dead ants lay all strewn about; A few of them were moving still; And very soon, they too lay dead, Like soldiers killed in battle-field! The scout ants went from ant to ant, Perhaps in search of ones alive; Some went back fast to convey news About the tragedy they saw! And very soon, arrived more ants To check if dead were truly dead; Somehow, these ants smelt death itself; They did it so effortlessly! Each one of them lifted the dead, By proboscis and sped back home; Each ant with carcass upon mouth, Ran back as fast as legs carried. And in a trice, the dead were cleared; The scene of crime was clean by now; The work was finished in moments; Yes, ants are truly busiest! Oh, what respect ants show their dead! How fast they rescue comrades hurt! They proved they respected their dead; Do human beings do like-wise? Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-15-2008