"The World Built In Seven Days"
"Let's build us an ant farm!" I called with delight
as we pillaged the back yard for all we could find.
Sourcing the right materials for the housing required
we ensured that it's dimensions were down to a science!
We accounted for sizing before the panels were made
having found a supply of tempered glass for the case.
They had to be laid so each joint was adjacent
and tactfully placed to avoid any breakage.
I poised the encasement near the gleam of a candle
and pointed it facing a south-easterly angle.
Here they had ample warmth and light on display
and I could peer from the shadows any time of the day!
With the design taking shape, its outer-structure was glued,
we wiped at the fascia so all particles of dust were removed.
We trusted its durability and filled the bottom with sand
before we put in the roof to secure our colony's ants!
Once we'd gone and attached this over their home
we fitted the top with a hatch we could open and close.
This gave us total control over their food supply
we poked in a hole big enough to fit a tube inside.
We used this pipe both to get air in for breathing
and to provide the moisture our formicarium needed.
We took care to complete it over the span of a week
before sharing our 'Eden' with our Adam and Eve.
Its inhabitants seemed to thrive as they used their leg strength
for channeling secret chambers to store food and nest eggs.
Soon an extensive network of tunnels arrived
as the community went and doubled in size!
The numbers were rising in time as it grew
'til the hub was a hive of activity with societal rule.
The ants inside it assumed their individual roles
and I smiled as I knew they'd continue to grow.
The kingdom evolved, coming full-circle to see
hatchlings become soldiers, workers or queens.
One ant turned to his teammate, rose it's pincers and asked
"We've the world at our feet, but where d'you think it began?"
The civilian clacked his mandible and breathed with a sigh
"Some think it was planned by a great entity in the sky,"
Seeming surprised, his young antenna sprang into action
"Even the wisest ants believe it was a Big Bang that just happened!"
The elder gacked up as laughter came from his throat
"And you imagine all of this was made on its own?!"
The young labourer drone began to feel like an idiot
by surveying their home, it sounded completely ridiculous.
He'd seen the meticulous hours of physical skill
even been in the thick of it to assist in the build.
So did their habilitation result from a big bang defying logic
or was their existence a children's on-going science project?
