Whelm

As the hunters surged within,

The roof began to fall

Fractured chitin underfoot,

Whilst ichor soaked the halls



Then gathering, the pack reformed,

For once they’d all consumed,

They flooded from the earth in which

The hive was now a tomb



A rushing mass of fur and claws,

The host would move as one

Provided each could keep apace,

Those creatures feared none



Each component of the whole,

A spoke, for now, that linked

Dispensable—when it should break,

The rest would let it sink



When river’s water blocked their path,

They lingered over moss

A chain of stones bound shore to bank,

And each would have to cross



They navigated snout to tail,

The smallest one was knocked

As treacherous waters surged,

It shattered on the rocks



One component of the whole,

A spoke, that now, had snapped

Dispensable—it served no use,

The others would adapt



Silently, it understood,

And, broken beyond mend,

It watched the other hunters leave,

Then waited for the end