History of the World
Cave drawings were found in Borneo.
We listen to poems about trees at Artsplace
while dancers above us drum the floor
to a Fauré mashup. A plaque in Iceland
commemorates the last iceberg.
Hummingbird fledglings
set out for a nonstop flight south,
but the Amazon forests are burning
as Notre Dame goes up in flames.
We prospect for water on Saturn’s moon.
Behind the garage, we bury the chipmunk
caught by the cat. We’ve gone from burying
the dead, to stacking them, to recycling
their ashes. The landfills are overflowing.
The possum scavanges at dusk.
We do fifty repetitions on our yoga balls.
We hug tight to our therapy dogs.
What’s left is an unkindness of ravens
imitating human speech. They somersault
down from the sky to break our skin.
Shorebirds saved Columbus.
If we live forever, we’ll need a new planet.
7 thoughts on "History of the World"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Rich work to describe our poor condition.
There are so many things I love here. We are all over the
a place – in and out of present day and the past. From Borneo to the Amazon to landfill to backyard. As we “hug tight to our therapy balls” I pray we have a future.
This is such an active poem! My favorite part is when you turn from Saturn’s moon to burying the chipmunk – so vast to so specific.
We burn the Amazon and set fire to Notre Dame and our redemption a bevy of crows. We have gone on a long journey with this one. You always make it work.
Sobering thoughts – I really like the “unkindness of ravens imitating human speech.” Wish it weren’t so true…
Title pulled me in, and you don’t disappoint.
thank you, Gaby,,,it has been wonderful reading you work ans sharing w.ith you