Zombie Poetry: The Discovery of Fire

Today’s entry is a zombie poem, inspired by playing with The Fridge of the Damned refrigerator magnets, put out by Raw Dog Screaming Press. I highly recommend you get a set. As of this writing, you can still purchase a copy here.

The Discovery of Fire

Crackling flames sear and char flesh

marinaded in blood.

A dead man shuffling by turns his rotted face

as smoke wafts through the remains of his nostrils.

A sense,

a memory perhaps?

Sparked in a brain transformed by virus

it reaches out through the zombie haze

and he turns.

Rotted steps pull him

across the scorched lawn

towards a smoking bundle that used to be an infant.

Later, as he chews tender medium-rare muscle from the tiny limbs,

he remembers steak and barbecues.

Smell, the most powerful trigger,

overrides the raw desire for simple gray matter.

He finishes the feast

as the rest of the dead shuffle by in pairs and groups,

then rises,

driven by a new sensation

a thirst

and sets out on his quest for beer.

Copyright © 2013 Chris Stout