Red Ant

I was a kid
In California
With an avocado tree
Station wagon air
Was the first
I learned to breathe
I felt a little something
Growing up
With the grass
It stayed until
The ants felt the
Water that was
Hotter than them

But an unfamiliar ant
Came upon me
When my back was turned
Too young
Too proud
To jump down
I got burned and
I learned

Red ant
You inspire sometimes
Little ant
You’re a liar sometimes
Red ant
The fire in my eye
But I
Love the way you
Kiss and tell
Little ant you
Burn like hell
Red ant
The fire in my eye
The fire in my eye

On a porch
In Austin
Twenty years pass
I recognize your face
My heart
Begins to pace
The shiver of your pain
Your silent desire
The sting of
Your whisper when
You’re cold and tired

Either way
It’s not the same
Without you around
I learned when
I got burned

Red ant
My heart is
Black
But if you
Burn it red
I’ll burn you
Back

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