Erysichthon

know the crunch of bones, know shapeless dust
when you bite down on us, know
texture without taste, know what’s
placed on your tongue. know all and swallow.
know and know and know. know nothing much.

know the touch of flesh was somewhere once,
a warmth, a want. with that, a cost. a sense
that time was short, and could be wisely spent.
know fear was there, know we were there,
we who were whole, we who were bored.
how porous we became, you know. know how
we swam in what we thought we knew.

know now, know now, for there is only now,
a single muscle twitching down the wire.
gnaw now on the last of what there is,
words without wit, design absent desire.
know only the flavor of your mouth.
know only the code that gave you teeth.
go now, go now, there is only now,
only there is nowhere left to go.

no, the spark of life is not so rare.
no, I never thought it looked like this.
no, the stench of death is nothing new.
know and know and know. know everything.

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Thanks to Emily for letting me share her poem.