Each cell, self-aware
yearned for self-determination
disintegrated thus her hair
crucial chambers of her heart
legs sublimated from her pants
finally, a cloud, a living shroud
evolving epitaph to metazoa
experimemento mori
it was done.
She accumulated human lovers
I was one
morphed into a creature
of mute subjugation
mind absorbed by her unity
finally, a cloud
another living shroud
evolving epitaph to Homo sapiens
yet who could desire or expect more?
And it was done.
What is left of me
is left to wonder
is there anyone out there
who resisted? Who remains mortal
is no cloud, no living shroud
yet if so, I have no idea
how you might get in touch
with my scattered and pitted
sentient remains.
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David C. Kopaska-Merkel assumed human form in the ’50s. As a cover, he edited Star*line in the late ’90s, and won the Rhysling award (long poem) in 2006 for “The Tin Men” (a collaboration with Kendall Evans). His poetry has been published in venues including Asimov’s, Strange Horizons, Polu Texni, Primate Cuisine, and Night Cry. He has written 31 books, and edits Dreams and Nightmares magazine; @DavidKM on Twitter.
Kendall Evans’ stories and poems have appeared in nearly all the major science fiction and fantasy magazines, including Asimov’s SF, Analog, Weird Tales, Strange Horizons, Weirdbook, Mythic Delirium, Dreams & Nightmares, Space & Time, Nebula Award Showcase (2012), and many others. He is the author of the novel The Rings of Ganymede and a number of chapbooks, including Poetry Red-Shifted in the Eyes of a Dragon; Separate Destinations and The Tin Men (both written in collaboration with David C. Kopaska-Merkel); I Feel So Schizophrenic, the Starship’s AftBrain Said; and In Deepspace Shadows. |