Ink Works Best for Camouflage

Long before it could be shed,
Blood had to be invented.
So life invented it. Lives shed

It and circulated it
In a range of shades, mostly
Blues and reds. Before blood could

Be one species’ metaphor
For all sorts of importance,
Life long ago ran ahead,

Bleeding life and spreading it,
Drinking blood and shedding it.
Words can mention it. Words can

Make much of it, bandy it
About as one of us, just
A term. But words can’t give blood.