“Western Harvester Ant” by Sami Helgeson

Sometimes I wonder

how you can tell the age 

of a western harvester ant.

Or who kept one in captivity

long enough to know

that it was thirty years.

Sometimes that's how it feels

like I'm just harvesting, collecting

to pass the time

while someone measures my thorax.

About Writer
She/Her/Hers

Sami Helgeson is a poet whose work often focuses on family, intimacy, and trauma. Sami grew up in the Driftless Region of Wisconsin and currently resides in the high desert of Denver, Colorado. Sami's poetry has been recently published in the Peauxdunque Review and was chosen as an Honorable Mention in the 2022 Patty Friedmann Writing Contest.