One afternoon an ant appeared on my left arm
between my wrist and the crook of my elbow.
It was all alone, crawling slowly,
turning from time to time as if lost.
Not at all the stoic soldier
able to bear a leaf four times its size.
Had it been cast out from its ant-hill fortress
for some unforgiveable offense,
condemned to wander the vast expanse
of my desert flesh for eternity, utterly alone.
Or had the ant come to tell me something.
It turned again, then looked up.
Transfixed, I dared not move my arm
or lean in closer
but wished for a magnifying glass
that I might look into its eyes.
Perhaps they held the meaning of life.
Sitting close to me, she glanced over
surprised at how intently I was staring.
She kissed my cheek softly,
her lips powder dry.
I turned to her, stumbled into a kiss,
folded her in my arms,
the ant, forgotten.
Jen OConnor’s poetry and fiction are published in numerous journals, including American Writers Review, London Journal of Fiction, Sinister Wisdom, and Orchards Poetry Journal. She was finalist in the New Letters magazine 2023 Robert Day contest and won the 2023 Older Writers Grant from the Speculative Literature Foundation for her short story "Second Hand Salvation." Jen was a finalist in the 2024 Saints & Sinners Literary Festival Short Fiction Contest in New Orleans and her entry, "Second Hand Salvation," is published in the Festival’s anthology. "The Girl Who Would Be King," her full-length comedy, was a winner of Chicago’s Pride Films & Plays Women’s Words contest and is published and licensed by Stage Rights. "Taken For A Ride" was published in Fresh Words Magazine’s One-Act Plays. "Gayby’s Playdate," winner of the LGBT Festival in Los Angeles, was produced around the country and in Seoul, South Korea. Jen holds MA and MFA degrees in English and Theatre. She worked happily for many years at Walt Disney Imagineering in LA.
