Finger Food

Finger Food
by Steve Cope
03-09-2008
Revised 02-03-2009, 03-27-2009

I am a monster
or so they call me.
I was once a man,
just like you I had a life.

The townspeople were just so unforgiving,
The day they discovered what I had to do.
My life was normal and I felt good about myself
And the townspeople would greet me so warmly.

It's amazing how things change so quickly,
One day you are a normal guy scraping by
And the next your life is turned upside down
By an act you saw no other choice but to make.

One day I was hungry
and there was nothing in the fridge.
You see I am very poor and
all too often the cupboard is bare.

I went out looking for a rabbit or mabye a deer,
But what I spied on the road was not an animal.
There was a man who lived in our town for decades,
He had no friends and no relatives, the last of his line.

At first I thought he was just sick and passed out
For in the bar or on the road he did live and subsist on alcohol.
I shook him and called out his name many times.
"Elrod! Elrod! Get up!" I cried, but no movement was made.

My stomach was growling so much,
My hunger it was about to consume me.
Elrod was gone from this world and I was hungry,  don't you see?
Can you know where I am going with this, or must I spell it out?

I said a prayer over his loss and I did grieve because
In his own way, Elrod was a good man,
It's just that he was alone and I thought no one would care.
He would not take care of himself because he gave up hope long ago.

The first thing I prepared were his hands,
Finger food it was but sustenance was my goal.
Oh the taste at first took me aback
And then I looked around and saw how much I lack.

I had heard about those who ate their companions after a plane crash.
I had heard a story of a town that had to eat each other to survive.
I remember that there are still cannibals who do what we see as impossible.
I have to do what I must, to assuage this burning hunger.

I'm hungry, you see, and I do not have any money.
I'm poor, you see, and the cupboard it was bare.
Now there is something in the fridge
And now there is something in my belly.

I am not a monster
like so many would say.
I am hungry you see,
And that is why Elrod did not need a grave.

Now when the town found out that Elrod was no longer around,
they kept wondering what could have happened to him.
The suspicion turned to me, because of my healthy look.
I finally confessed, telling them all I did, and their ridicule began.

I'm just hungry and now the cupboard is bare,
I haven't been able to find a job because I'm a monster
In the eyes of these my former friends,
And I need to find sustenance again.

Oh my, oh me, what's that up the road?
It's not a rabbit for it's too big.
It's not a deer for it's too small.
What could it possibly be?
Finger food anyone!

Copenator out!
sic
HSM
Copenator Crew Leader
www.lulu.com  Learning to Cope E-book $2.50, soft cover $4.00 from author.
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