Working Present Tense

Every speech, every text
Is a bridge of ants stretched
Across the flood waters,
Built of the ants’ bodies,

Chained end-to-end, the ants
Linked only to themselves,
Linked only by themselves,
Bridge of ants that ants cross,

Eggs first. Eggs first, queen last,
The future, then the past.
Then the bridge collapses,
Half the workers swept off.