It's Dark In Here

Gnawing hunger that never ends, never started even as it has always been.
An eternity it seems, so far ago, so far away, even I have forgotten what time I'm in
knowing
only knowing the hunger.

Planet after planet feeding as I settled in, never alone as I multiplied and spread
open to any organic matter
closed to any resistance
and learning.

A planet called Earth, a gravity trap my seeds fell into
upon desert sands
ocean waters
and ice; I fed.
Gnawing hunger that never ends, never sated, until a torrent of life discovered
what I myself, what I am.

Dressed in what could only feed my appetite
they poked at me, prodded my skin, and analyzed
thinking so foolishly that a intelligent primate could win
what other planets much stronger in thought
were only now seeds of myself spreading
growing
and eating
again, and again.

The laser grew intense and oh so much brighter
until my hunger grew so powerful I followed the beam to its source
which led in turn to its master...
and the feeding began.

Rich, chewy, and organic
I burrowed into what piece is known as a chest
a breast
a legbone
a thigh
I settled in, and multiplied.

Gnawing hunger that never ends, never started as it has always been
inside this depleting body it is dark
while outside the sun is glowing
the streets filled with food...
Soon,
very soon the real feeding will begin.

The end of a cosmic diet and the beginning of an eating binge.

Find more by Robin B. Lipinski in the Author Index.

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.