Protohuman Ode
O big-toothed shark, giant
python & elephant sloth, I’m not the type
to kneel at the altar, but ribs, jaws,
& teeth of the Pliocene Epoch I cling
to your tough remnants.
What it must have been before gas
pump & bullet. Before light switch
& cockpit. Your swampy
church with its jumble of snails
& slugs. Your warm oceans
gurgling multitudes. Cousins
in the thick trees with their long
red-brown arms & lemon-sized
brains. O gibbon, swinging branch
to branch. O orangutan, roving
the floor of the forest. I bow
to you as you nest high
in the trees, as you tramp
out a path for me, an arrogant
humanoid, waiting with weapons.
6 thoughts on "Protohuman Ode"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Yes! Art is often about helping others really see something so familiar we generally fail to pay attention. This poem does that. <3
There are so many good things about this poem. “Before light switch & cockpit” an example of words that work with image and sound. An ode to your ode.
I love love love this poem.
An idea so well-executed.
Linda – After reading this poem, I feel like I can look out my window and see this time and space. “Swampy church” – come on! How great is that!
You do make the Pliocene Epoch attractive. I love how you included the “O”s to show the yearning.
Your warm oceans contain multitudes. I adored that phrase. The imagery for the orangutan “roving” the floor – I could see the ape. How you will not kneel at an altar, but will cling to bones, and how you will bow to nests high in the trees, there’s an ecstatic cry to bond with life itself instead of what we create to bond with. Just loved every inch of this. Thank you for putting your writing here, it’s so wonderful.