Prions

Beware a feast of human meat
With inhibitions in retreat.
When taboos shudder, freeze and crack
The nervous system jumps its track.
Hidden proteins fold like magic;
Origami turning tragic.
Soft tissues supersaturate
And undergo the stony fate
Of crystals branching in their sea,
Locked in spiked rigidity
As laughter overcomes a face
Above a brain that’s turned to lace.
There’s reasons we shun others’ flesh
No matter if it’s dried or fresh.
Appetite becomes death’s tool
When we adopt the ways of ghouls.

Elizabeth Hurst

If you have any thoughts about this poem, Elizabeth Hurst would like to hear them.