Fire Ants
In a plot designed
to conquer their nemesis,
demonstrate their dominance,
and provide a warning
to larger but timid tribes,
an aggressive tribe
stakes Tarzan out in the mid-day sun
spread eagle and face up,
his muscular frame
stretched and baking,
mere feet from three mounds
of fire ants.
Of course they find him,
crawling and swarming
over his captive body,
biting and stinging,
piercing his taut skin,
a massive attack
all over his body,
from his face and scalp
beneath his flowing hair
down his biceps and forearms,
his pecs and protruding nipples,
sensitive armpits
and abdominal ridges,
crawling under his back enough
to bite from below,
infiltrating his loincloth,
stinging everywhere,
down his sturdy and defined legs,
the rough soles of his feet,
the palms of his hands.
Within minutes, an army of hundreds
is assaulting the writhing jungle man,
his tormentors watching and jeering.
In a fit of rage, pain, and defiance,
Tarzan yanks up a stake,
one hand set free,
to quickly undo the other stakes,
his captors afraid to mix with the fire ants
watching in amazement
as the tortured Tarzan
frees himself, races, and dives
head first into a river
teeming with crocodiles
to rid himself
of the complicit insects
and escape downstream,
leaving his enemies
without the conquest they had hoped for.
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Tarzan is a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs.
Voice Recording