I read of a man who was tied down And the ants ate him; His fingers, his ears, his eyes, his tongue ..... All were eaten by the little things, And, at last, They emptied the bony cavity that held his brain, Sucking and sucking ...... I am tied down, and the @3little things@1 are eating me .... The friend who calls me on the telephone and talks and talks, The agent with new mops, The husband who insists that I make love to him when I would make a song of love, The children who quarrel and will not do their lessons, The avalanche of sewing that threatens to smother me, The letters from Cousin Anne and Brother Ben and Aunt Hattie, that must be answered, The ice-man's short weight and the butcher's carelessness, Even the rosy baby at my breast, All, all, are slowly, relentlessly eating me alive! My fingers no longer obey me, My ears cannot hear; My eyes cannot see; My tongue cannot sing; And slowly the bony cavity that holds my brain Is being emptied ... but my husk smiles and smiles So that no one knows @3I am being eaten By the little things@1. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE BOOK OF MARTYRS by EMILY DICKINSON LINES WRITTEN AT THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR by ANNA LETITIA BARBAULD POLYHYMNIA: SONNET TO LADY FALKLAND UPON HER GOING TO INTO IRELAND by WILLIAM BASSE A WOMAN SCALY by WILLIAM BLAKE THE PHILANDERER by BERTON BRALEY TO MISS ANNA MARIA TRAVERS. AN EPISTLE FROM SCOTLAND by CHARLOTTE BRERETON EPITAPH ON MR. VAUX, THE PHYSICIAN by WILLIAM BROWNE (1591-1643) |