Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.
quote by Lewis Thomas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Related quotes
The Red Ants...
The red ants are not red...
They are blacks hired
To mow down their own
Out of sinkholes
Onto pavements
The red ants are not ants...
They are human beings reduced
To machines that bulldoze
Those whose plight they share
For a meal
Note: In the City of Johannesburg, the poor occupying the innercity's delapidated buildings (so-called sinkholes) are forcefully evicted by armies of men in red overalls (popularly known as the red ants) , clearing the buildings as part of the inner city regeneration programme...
poem by Moses Mtileni
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Sonnet: From Soldier-ants To God
Who gave the soldier-ants their formic-sting?
So small a brain yet, intellect so vast;
To run in columns, organise and bring,
Their prey piece-meal and larvae very fast.
To choose their sites of nest-building on trees;
To glue the leaves with spider-like resin;
To sentinel their nest in war and peace;
To labor ceaselessly and wars to win.
What wondrous creatures, ants tho’ small can be?
Their industry, man ought to emulate;
In sun and rain and wind, they slog truly;
They stood the test of centuries till date.
How much more splendid Being, God must be?
The universe’s Ruler, Almighty!
8-26-2002
poem by John Celes
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Warrior Red-Ants
I crushed some warrior-ants to death,
And wondered what, others would do;
And very promptly, came more ants
To investigate scene of crime!
These ants build nests upon the trees,
By gluing leaves with strange substance;
Their nests look like army barracks,
With sentry-ants guarding smartly!
The dead ants lay all strewn about;
A few of them were moving still;
And very soon, they too lay dead,
Like soldiers killed in battle-field!
The scout ants went from ant to ant,
Perhaps in search of ones alive;
Some went back fast to convey news
About the tragedy they saw!
And very soon, arrived more ants
To check if dead were truly dead;
Somehow, these ants smelt death itself;
They did it so effortlessly!
Each one of them lifted the dead,
By proboscis and sped back home;
Each ant with carcass upon mouth,
Ran back as fast as legs carried.
And in a trice, the dead were cleared;
The scene of crime was clean by now;
The work was finished in moments;
Yes, ants are truly busiest!
Oh, what respect ants show their dead!
How fast they rescue comrades hurt!
They proved they respected their dead;
Do human beings do like-wise?
Copyright by Dr John Celes 5-15-2008
poem by John Celes
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Appalled
I gasped at what I held in my two hands.
My son had handed me the leather whip,
A bullwhip, five feet long, a master used
To subjugate his slaves unto his will.
And then, he handed me the branding irons,
Which heated to a red-hot glow were used
To brand a human as a master's own.
I felt disgust, appalled, to think they scorched
A person's brow, or seared a woman's breast
To indicate a master's ownership
Of human beings.
Slaves were classified
As lower than the cattle in the field,
Who lived in quarters, a degree above,
What masters would provide for their prize pigs.
Slave girls were tagged as 'breeders, ' bred like dogs,
To bind in servitude their newborn child.
A slave was valued by his 'use, ' not by
His human value. He was bought and sold
Upon an auction block, with heifers, hogs
And brooder mares, like chattel on a farm.
Denied all self-respect and dignity,
Through burning indignation, slaves maintained
An inner purpose which prevailed despite
The efforts to debase them less than swine.
What was the mastic causing them to live
When death was far their better choice than life?
An old black man advised me of the cause.
'There was a bond of faith they found within
Their gospel, where they heard the Word of God,
Both sung and spoken from the church lectern.
A basic trust that God would elevate
Them from their desperate depravation. They
Endured because of those who were to come,
The future generations, whom they hoped
Could rise above the level, which the slaves
Themselves then lived.
Belief blazed up like fire
Through their religion. An awakening,
Had lighted the dark caves of their deep grief,
Ignited from the embers of their dreams.'
(Free Verse)
poem by Lynn W. Petty
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The last sound on the worthless earth will be two human beings trying to launch a homemade spaceship and already quarreling about where they are going next.
quote by William Faulkner
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What's happened with society is that we have created these devices, computers, which already can register and process huge amounts of information, which is a significant fraction of the amount of information that human beings themselves, as a species, can process.
quote by Seth Lloyd
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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War Path
So many of my brothers and sisters are traveling this road
What’s expected is really unknown.
Death and destruction all around
Gunfire is the only sound.
War is really a living hell
Especially when you find out
Your best friend fell.
Innocent children sitting in the debris
Asking “ what’s going to happen to me? ’
We have the technology to send people into space
What’s going on with the human race?
There is fear etched on every child s face.
Why don’t we use the brains that we’ve been given
To find peace and keep on living.
Wars have been going on since the beginning of man
Why can’t we search for peace?
What’s to understand!
There are insects and bugs, such as ants and bees
Who is in charge by their queen.
They have armies which they control
And they’re used to maintain their environment
In which they live, and do not use them for war.
So why can’t we follow their lead and settle our scores.
We kill other human beings to feel alive
Animals kill just to survive.
We say that they are the animals
So I guess we must be the beast
For on others miseries we do feast.
We fight for land, and we fight for power
Then what will happen in our final hours
Will we fight the temptation
to beg for our salvation.
poem by Louis Rams
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Earthquake In Haiti
The Earth of Haiti quaked,
Shook the towers of the towns,
Pulled down structures of the buildings
Big or small of the cities and villages,
Thousands of human beings buried alive,
Beneath the debris of roofs and walls,
Constructed by the human hands;
But now the survivours forgetting the deceased
Fight for food, packs of milk and edibles,
They snatch from each other the contents,
As if the contestants show their strength
In basketball, driving the ball with full vigour;
And some sit forlorn strengthless,
Waiting for their own turn.
But on the contrary,
The pioneer-kings of the countries,
Are busy in recruiting armies and making armadas,
Missiles and shells, bombs and bullets,
Nuclear and chemical weapons,
For the better future and wellbeing of mankind.
poem by Muhammad Shanazar
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Human Beings
Human being beings are strange in being human,
Strange in love and art and vice,
Strange in being nice
Human beings are strangers in the night
Lights shining on a starry night
No sooner blinked out they are gone
A stranger in the human race
Keeping up keeping face,
Moving on
In crowds and queues and buses
Walking alone at ten
Human beings in being human
Make the strangest men
Not easy to be read,
Or clothed or fed
Or put to bed
Each thought entwined
Lives over signed overlapped
Smaller beings kept but not as 'pets'
Sometimes feel 'trapped'
For human beings are best when left at sea
Frantic firey disordered unchained set free
Their limpet souls make rocks their strange security
For love for life for space,
Human beings are strangest in 'The Human Race'
poem by Yvette Smith
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Slow Chemical
The wonder of the world is gone and old for sure
All the wonder that I would have found in her
As a hole becomes another strike to burn
An old flame returns
Every intuition fails to find it's way
One more table turned around I'm back again
Finding I'm a lost and found when she's not around
When she's not around I feel it coming down
Get me what I could never ask for
Connect me and you could be my chemical NOW
Give me the drug you know I'm after
Connect me and you could be my chemical
When everybody wants (the chemical of) your soul
When everybody wants (the chemical of) your soul
Slow and
Everybody wants you
So
Slow and
Everybody wants your soul
Give me what I could never ask for
connect me and you could be my chemical NOW
Give me the drug you know I'm after
Connect me and you could be the chemical
You could be the chemical
You could be the chemical
You could be the chemical
You could be the chemical
song performed by by Finger Eleven
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Telemaniaco / Tele Maniac
Un cavernícola golpea a su amada / A caveman hits his lover
y se la lleva de los pelos a la cueva / and it takes it to him from the hair to the cave
no se preocupe no ha pasado nada / don't worry it has not passed anything
el noticiero de las nueve lo comprueba / the news report of nine o'clock checks it
Es un telemaníaco / He is a tele maniac
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
Me siento bién definitivamente / I feel so good definitively
necesitaba esa dosis de novelas / I really needed that dosis of novels
ya he llorado por cuatro horas y media / I´ve been crying for four hours and a half
ahora cambio para ver una comedia / and now I´m change to see some comedy
Es un telemaníaco / He is a tele maniac
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
Los dibujitos animados son lo máximo / The cartoons are the maximum thing
me gusta verlos una y otra vez / I like to see them an and another time
luego con mis amigotes los imito / later with my pals I imitate them
y hacemos gala de nuestra inmadurez / and we make Gallic of our immaturity
Es un telemaníaco / He is a tele maniac
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
Las heroínas buscando chicos malos / The heroines looking for bad boys
los chicos malos buscando diversión / the bad boys looking for amusement
los superhéroes volando por los cielos / the superheros flying for the skies
las chicas pierden sus ligas en el bronx / the girls lose their suspenders in the bronx
Es un telemaníaco / He is a tele maniac
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
Cómo me aburro estudiando y trabajando / How I get bored studying and working
con mis papeles y con el profesor / with my papers and with the professor
tan solo quiero volver corriendo a casa / all I want is to return running home
para sentarme frente al televisor / to sit down in front of the television
Es un telemaníaco / He is a tele maniac
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
ama la televisión ama la televisión / He loves to watch the TV, he loves to watch the TV
poem by Ramiro 2 Burgos
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Man's enemies are not demons, but human beings like himself.
The Farm
There┬┤s a cockroach in my coffee
There┬┤s a needle in my arm
And I feel like New York City
Get me to the farm
Get me to the farm
Get me to the farm
Somebody get me to the farm
I got terminal uniqueness
I'm an egocentric man
I get caught up in my freakness
But I ain┬┤t no Peter Pan
Get me to the farm
Get me to the farm
Get me to the farm
Get me...
Buckle up straight Jack
Sanity is such a drag
Jellybeam thorazene
Trancendental jet lag
Sanity I ain┬┤t gotta
Feeling like a pinala
Sucker punch-blowin┬┤lung
Motherload-pigeonholed
I'm feeling like I'm gonna explode
I wanna be a Hare Krishna
Tattoo a dot right on my head
And the prozac is my fixer
I am the living dead
Take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Somebody take me to the farm
Somebody take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Somebody take me to the farm
Somebody take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Take me to the farm...
Take me to the farm
Take me to the farm
Somebody take me to the farm
song performed by by Aerosmith
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I was one of the first generations to watch television. TV exposes people to news, to information, to knowledge, to entertainment. How is it bad?
quote by Tom Clancy
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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What a pity human beings can't exchange problems. Everyone knows exactly how to solve the other fellow's.
quote by Olin Miller
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We're Not Alone Anymore
I got down on myself it looked like I was falling off the shelf
It was the wrong direction
I got way behind searching inside everybody trying to find
My own reflection
But I got something to say so get out of my way
'Cause I'm not all alone anymore
Better sound the alarm Stand your ground Raise your arm
'Cause you're not all alone anymore
I got out of control I figured there was a lock on rock and roll
And I lost the combination
But you better beware I'm used and abused I got nothing to lose
And I'm back from my vacation
But I got something to say so get out of my way
'Cause I'm not all alone anymore
Better sound the alarm Stand your ground Raise your arm
'Cause you're not all alone anymore
Stand up We're not alone anymore
Stand up
Look up We're not alone anymore
Look Up
But I got something to say so get out of my way
'Cause I'm not all alone anymore
Better sound the alarm Stand your ground Raise your arm
'Cause you're not all alone anymore
song performed by by Kansas
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: Ants Too Are Great
The Ants too serve the Lord in greater ways;
If not for them, who will devour the dead
Of flora, fauna? Nobody them pays;
But that is how they work and get well fed.
They work much more than any human soul;
Their little brains can think a lot of things;
Never-ending, they labor for a goal;
Suff’ring adverse conditions, Nature brings.
What unity exists within the clan!
They worked in unison in disaster;
They are so industrious, much more than man;
For body size, they run even faster.
Man has to learn many lessons from the ants;
They live much satisfied with lesser wants.
poem by John Celes
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Capture It
The crashing seas
A box of bees
Capture the Crashes
Capture the Buzz
A skateboarder's stunts
Simply having fun
Capture the Stunts
Capture the Fun
First day at school
First swim in the pool
Capture the Uniform
Capture the Ripples
There's an Image for Everything
Every Occasion
Capture the Image
Capture The Moment.
poem by Rachel Marlow
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Weeping Child
I can’t see child weeping
Each day I wish for her nice keeping
All needs properly taken care off
Make all that I could for to get simple laugh
We all have good faith in Him
We are like good human beings in his team
Take care of his creations
Offer maximum love and raise no questions
We bear pain to our selves
But take care to see that child normally behaves
Offers us all the joy that we had dreamed
Little warmth in body as Sun ray has just beamed
Child can’t be put to unrest
We try to make her feel good and enjoy at best
How nicely we feel when child rides on our back?
Drive us nicely by gently kicking
My heart pains a little when hear a little cry
It raises many questions in mind, I don’t know why?
Yet sometimes my poverty comes on the way
That drives me uneasy and takes thoughts away
If hunger drives child to raise a cry
I simply curse self and feel very shy
I have child so lovely and beautiful
Yet I have to struggle hard and feel little shameful
I feel chanted when hands are extended
It makes my heart filled with joy and firmly bonded
May be this is day we all long for and pass
The beauty lies in child’ smile and carries distinct class
poem by Hasmukh Amathalal
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Child labor and poverty are inevitably bound together and if you continue to use the labor of children as the treatment for the social disease of poverty, you will have both poverty and child labor to the end of time.
quote by Grace Abbott
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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