Icarus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis)

There is a fungus

existing in the depths of Brazil that

when ingested by an ant

slowly takes over its mind

and motivates it to seek out

the highest branch in the jungle

“Leave the herd.”

“Seek your own path.”

“Don’t follow — lead.”

With such singular vision,

of making something of oneself

our hero is compelled that day

to veer off his communal duties.

So when a broken branch forces the troop to veer left

it veers right

It heads deep into the underbrush,

locates a sizeable trunk and begins to climb

All the while fed a steady iv drip of aspirational promises —

of finding more sugar than anyone else

far more than it could ever need.

Seeking out the warmth of the midday sun

it emerges from the shadows of the foliage

And in that moment, it has time to think

— for the first time to think —

a thought entirely its own

sunlight glistening

on the edge of a leaf

The fungus blooms inside the ant

expanding throughout its body

breaking tough outer shell

to blow out of the top of its head

and send its spores alight on the breeze