#253 A Life in a Day

As the sun rises

So do I

I tear open my egg

And blink at the light

I’m hungry

I move off to a plant nearby

Mother must have laid me there

Because she knew

I slice off chunks of plant

Mashing each chunk slowly

Before pushing it down

And reaching for another

Soon the plant is just a nub

And I feel satiated

For the moment

I do feel a little constricted though

My skin pops

I look down

At the bottom of my abdomen

There is a tear

I pick at it

It gets bigger

Until I just climb  right out

Standing now next to an empty shell of myself

I feel the need to move

The sun has grown higher in the sky

I should go find…..something

I spread my wings and fly

Hungry, again

I spy a likely plant

It’s much bigger than the last

And has several other like me around it

I land

They all look at me

Then go back to eating

I join them

A crashing in the underbrush

Grabs our attention

Suddenly a huge furry creature bursts out

And devours three of us

Before we can fly away

The sun is directly above now

As I stop to shed my skin again

As I step out of the old

I hear a rustling nearby

And see another

I saw him at the plant

Before we were so interrupted

We look at each other

He strikes a strange pose

I feel sensations inside me

I want to go closer

When I grow near

He grasps me firmly

And flies up into the sky

I’m alarmed when I feel him enter me

And struggle slightly in his grasp

After going some distance

He lands clumsily

And drops me

He is pale and discolored

And falls to his side

I look down at him

And poke him gently

He doesn’t move

So I eat him

The sun is halfway down the sky

As I eat in a frenzy

His carcass is not enough

And I eat every plant I can see

Until I am full

I walk a little bit

And find a small sheltered place

Next to a big rock

It’s shady and safe

I look to my left

And there is a fine plant there

With several small buds on the ground near

I want to dig

So I dig a shallow hole

And squat above it

Pushing gently

Ten small white eggs slide out of me

I gaze at them longingly

And cover them with some sand

Feeling weaker now

I climb slowly up on the rock

And look out at the sky

The sun is setting

The sky is awash with oranges

Purples and blues

My hands are discolored and pale

I fall to my side

My life is complete