Jenna Ziegler

We’d watch the ant path,
my brother and I,
noses to the stone.
He liked to help them,
dropping offerings along their trail—
leaves, sap, crumbs from his own lunch.
He’d pluck aphids from the rosebushes
(our mother thanked him for caring for the flowers)
and place them before the ants—
watched the feast.
My brother smiled with dimples,
proud to help the garden thrive
and ants survive—
setting gifts along their path,
altering their direction and mealtime
as ardently as the current lapping a riverstone smooth.

Jenna Ziegler is a poet with chronic illness who writes about grief, hope, and nostalgia, the solace of nature, and what it means to be human. Her work appears in Seaside Gothic, The Walnut Branch, and Macrame Literary Journal, and elsewhere. You can connect with Jenna on Instagram (@jtzieglerauthor)  or at jtzieglerauthor.com.