Lately our translation team has been locked in what Abdoulaye (NT translator) has dubbed "ant work." We spend days, weeks, months, going over translated texts -- copyediting, reviewing, revising, proofreading -- to get to goal. It's easy to get lost in the details. A friend brought up the truth that some people are antlike, working hard and trapped in their attention to what is in front of them; a grasshopper would be hopping all over, playing more. Yeah, I know. We do sometimes get to fly at night! But the life of an ant serves its purpose . . .

Ant Work  © Linnea Boese 2012

So, I am an ant.

I have my assigned duties

and push myself

defying gravity

to climb the tree,

walk the tiny branch

behind my guide,

find the designated goods

and scurry back

to lay them down

with all the rest.

And do it all again.

What are we building?

May it be a family,

with young ones

lithe and eager, or

a homeland

for the future,

the fragile and the free, –

or even a strong

treasury, a place

where truth and life

are kept intact

for those to come.

Sometimes I wonder

if some passing giant

might not step,

all unawares,

on all we’re working for.

Who knows? My job

is just to run

the scented trail

laid out for me,

and do my best

in company with

my community.

It’s who I am.