praise be. light returns and i shall feed. [1] engine of my little body runs. i am simple by design and require no beginning. praise be. for all world was once a damp black cave, all silent stone and stillness. but then was light, and with light came motions of water and with motions of water came Seed. Seed makes life. [2] it caught first in deep flesh of cave which then folded into self to make cave within cave within cave. we are all pockets of dark space one within another. 

i, too, am cave and within deep flesh, am many. praise be. i sit with my Seed long hours. my Seed cannot be seen in dark. it cannot be tasted or felt. but i am only where Seed is, and so i know it true. to sit with Seed, to marvel it, to love it, that is all Seed wants. it doesn’t bid us live long or grow large or eat much. it asks only that we sit with it. praise be. 

for there are many dangers beyond cave. i can hear rustles in motion, feel flux in seabed round me. praise be to Seed which keeps me here, for black-eyed one prowls the sand beds. [3] it hovers above and stalks the dark. black-eyed one is a god. it too craves Seed. Seed will fortify its power. black-eyed one tears open mouth of cave. black-eyed one enters when it wants. black-eyed one feeds on deep flesh in search of Seed. spare me from black-eyed one. keep me in fold of Seed. for when black-eyed one comes—and come it shall—it shall take my Seed from me. i shall fall to bottom of cave. i shall lay there always, forgotten and alone. 

but even then, Seed carried by motions of water. it buries itself in deep flesh of the next cave. and they too shall know the glory of Seed. and i am there in that knowing. i too shall share that glory. light returns and we shall feed. praise be…

[1] The ocean quahog is a species of clam, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Arcticidae. Compared to other species of clams, it shows slower growth rates caused by lowered somatic maintenance costs. This inert lifestyle results in exceptional longevity. “Ming the Clam” was said to have lived 507 years.

[2] Like other clams, the ocean quahog is a filter feeder. Feeding activity appears regulated by light levels, which can be used as a proxy for food availability.

[3] The spotted ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei) is a chimaera found in the north-eastern Pacific Ocean. One of their most mesmerizing features is their large, emerald green eyes, which are able to reflect light, similar to the eyes of a cat.