Hardwired For Blood

He’s hardwired for blood
His body evolved to kill
to kill on land and in water
his teeth, white and jagged, meant to tear
meant to crush bone, meant to rip sinew.
He is a predator, his ancestors still roam and pillage in gangs
and they spark fear in humans.
When they howl, our hearts grow faint
and the hollow returns to our stomachs.
And he is their offspring, though we built him specifically to hunt.
And his natural diet, muscle and eyeballs and liver and skin
and hearts,
he would eat them even if they were still beating.
He stands before me, drool dangling from jowl to floor,
hungry.
This predator, nature’s killing machine
hardwired for blood
he won’t take his eyes off the food, it is obvious what he wants,
this predator
he whines at me, and growls a little.
Then yawns.
This predator, this hunter, this killer,
whines for what he wants:
the chocolate cake on my plate,
and a nap.