Whelm

As the hunters surged within,
The roof began to fall
Fractured chitin underfoot,
Whilst ichor soaked the halls

Then gathering, the pack reformed,
For once they’d all consumed,
They flooded from the earth in which
The hive was now a tomb

A rushing mass of fur and claws,
The host would move as one
Provided each could keep apace,
Those creatures feared none

Each component of the whole,
A spoke, for now, that linked
Dispensable—when it should break,
The rest would let it sink

When river’s water blocked their path,
They lingered over moss
A chain of stones bound shore to bank,
And each would have to cross

They navigated snout to tail,
The smallest one was knocked
As treacherous waters surged,
It shattered on the rocks

One component of the whole,
A spoke, that now, had snapped
Dispensable—it served no use,
The others would adapt

Silently, it understood,
And, broken beyond mend,
It watched the other hunters leave,
Then waited for the end