Almost Adam

It was a time before self-consciousness,
a time before Australopithecus. No Piltdown Man,
Neanderthal, nil. Is it Homo Sapiens
that depends what it is when wisdom ends?

Bipedal, prehensile, used utensils, could communicate.
An ax, an adze held in hand, palm frond used as a fan.
Early man catch as can on the steps it all began. A guttural
growl, a whistle and a bark, not exactly a walk in the park.

Some pebbles round, or piece of flint, a throwing stone,
they ate marrow from a bone.

The die was cast somewhere out on the savannah grass.
Knee high, lion’s lair, cave bear, no BVD underwear.

Creeping out from behind the trees, sniffing at the breeze.
Dawn sunrise, taken by surprise, wide wondrous eyes,
primordial cries, puny undersized. But despite the size,
a bit more wise: the little clan had rocks in hand.

Dawn, sunrise, tigers on the loose, long in tooth, naked
beings running fast in the tall Savannah grass.
Baby clings to mother, then runs among the others.
Claws sparkle from paws, saliva drips from jaws,
ain’t no time to pause.

Water hole, no time to drink, trapped, beeline for the tree line.
Crimson lies painted skies, birds on the wing,
Dark light, dampened hair, matted to the skin,
torn from limb to limb. No more monkey tales,

distinct prognathous, flattened proboscis, no small fang,
vestigial remains, hunger pangs, on the run
silhouetted against the sun. Picking berries, preening hair,
left right out of sight, lions in their lair.

Some curious oddity, beginning of society.
Hierarchical subculture.
A look, grunt, gesture, characteristic feature,
a sign made by hand.

But far piece to go before appreciation of Van Gogh,
when in the evening dusk comes slivering,
drinking at water’s hole amongst a herd of buffalo.
They, drifting in time, staring
at each other’s face that disappear with dark
without a trace.

A grimace, they gaze at a babbling brook.
Reflections in a pool. A wink, blink, now extinct,
only evidence — a plaster cast of footprints.

Fragments imbedded in the grass
of bone, jaw, tooth, a hip joint,
a crude spear point.

Poem written and narrated by Mike Bodine; music, “Juicin’,” composed by No1zShadow; produced by John C. Mannone