Song

I love to watch you slumbering, my pet,
Although I know your sleep is but a ploy
And that you’re listening to every word that I eject
As I sing you this final lullaby.

I’ve willed to you my eyes and appetite,
I’ve taught you many ways to hunt and buy.
My giant child, you’ve long outgrown my lap, my trembling knee.
Your girth makes my embrace a mockery.

You’ve splintered both your bassinet and bed;
In fact you barely fit inside the house.
I need you more the more there is of you for me to need.
Your ever-swelling belly brings me bliss.

(And this part I sing only in my head
And hope you cannot read my thoughts-not yet.
I must admit, at times I feel afraid. Not for myself.
I wonder if my judgment has been off.)

The more you take, the more I want to give.
I do not wish to choose. I have no choice.
No longer are my impulses so sharp, nor do I crave.
I only long to fill your savage void.

The name I gave you has become my own,
And every word I utter is your name.
Your picture’s hanging everywhere, on billboards, churches, schools.
Your jingles now are anthems sung by all.

(And yet, I think of when you were so small
And suckled at my breast, so sweetly weak.
And I remember your first death, the blood upon your lips.
I cannot plumb the depths of my regret.)

They say you’ve gotten far too big to fail.
They say we’ll give you anything you ask.
Your bloated stomach must not be allowed to waste away.
We’ll all make sacrifices for your sake.

One day, sweet babe, you’ll find there’s nothing left:
You’ve swallowed every whisker, every leaf.
I’m burying my fears to fertilize your barren fields.
I’m giving up my life so you may thrive.