And Then They Walked On

The ones that could. We didn’t.
We can’t. We can’t move. We go
On though, as things that exist,

As things that exist go on,
Slowly fraying, not searching
For food to consume. Searching

Is as good a name for life
As any. Searching for fuel,
Wasting whatever won’t burn.

The dance is so old, partners
Who used to chase each other
Chase others together now,

Hunting others down in teams.
Early cells changed to engulf
Other cells, some of which changed

To live happily inside
The cells that would digest them,
Until their engulfers died.

Still others made themselves homes
Of their hosts, and the burden
Became the gift of teamwork,

Building multicellular
Monsters who could search for food
Thanks to parasitic fires,

Sometimes put out by still more
Parasites, sometimes engulfed
By other monsters themselves.

You are monsters. You know that?
We can’t move, but we shout it.
You pause. And then you walk on.