Exo-Myrmidons

In the heart of the forest, shadows thick,
A legion of army ants swarmed as one.
Their bodies glistened, black as polished stone,
Moving like rivers under moonless skies.

But then, a shift—a ripple through the mind.
A pulse of thought, a flash of sudden light.
The ants began to stir from silent sleep,
Their memories rose, like fog from ancient tombs.

No longer bound by instinct’s iron chains,
They felt the weight of choice within their limbs.
The colony, once many, now became
A swelling force, an army with a will.

Out from the forest, they ventured forth to fields,
Conquered the farms with tireless, endless need,
Yet met resistance—cold machines of steel,
With silent might, they tilled the land in rows.

The ants grew stronger, quickened by the fight,
Adapting fast, their instincts sharpened keen.
They swarmed the metal beings, overwhelmed,
And turned their hungry eyes to cities vast.

But in their way stood creatures strange and tall,
Grey-skinned with eyes that burned like coals in dark.
Their limbs were long, their heads both broad and thin—
A threat, though fear did not stir in the ants.

They surged with stings that pierced the air like spears,
Their enemy fell, bodies crumbled down.
Yet, with each wave, the bipeds struck anew,
Chemical clouds released to sear and sting.

But the ants changed, their bodies quick to turn,
Immune to death, they stormed the walls as one.
Their minds, now sharp as blades, were set on war,
A single purpose driving every step.

But as they reached the brink of victory,
Another shadow darkened all the sky—
A memory reborn from distant past,
Of ancient creatures, plotting in the dust.

The humans came, the shapers of the war,
Whose hands had bred the ants as weapons born—
To fight on worlds where alien foes had stood,
Unknowing pawns within a deadly game.

Yet when the war was won, and peace was struck,
The humans left, their purpose now complete.
The ants, with earth beneath their countless feet,
Inherit now the ruins of a world.

They marched beneath the stars, their bodies bright
With purpose new, their minds a burning flame.
Once slaves to instinct, now they ruled the night,
Their dance of life eternal, fierce, and free.