(no subject)

[layers_of_eli]

i poach the ants' bodies gently with citrus
and spruce oils. i assume they were here for the water,
for a parched queen.

i wonder if their cells slough a scent,
too gentle to detect under the heavy oil,

i wonder if after everything, after wave after wave of their invasion,
after swallowing them in our sleep and our meals,
noticing them crawling up our spine in the night,
if now we even breathe them in.