Third Prize winner of the 5th Occasional Geist Erasure Poetry Contest.

Aliens ate my precious heart. They liked the flavor.

With it gone, I was surprised to find my agitation forgotten.

The physicians were perplexed. However, they agreed it seemed a blessing.

On the whole, I felt more free. I was quite capable, now, of life.

I could wander about.

Drink. Eat.

I became a cannibal.

It was easy. But then,

I grew hungry for you, your life.

So, pardon the intrusion. I could not control my feelings.

Press my hand now and be born.

The Erasure Text for the 5th Occasional Geist Erasure Poetry Contest is an excerpt from A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder, by James De Mille, published by Harper & Brothers in 1888.