She watches in Olduvai’s breaking dawn
foretaste of the day’s bruteness pricking her skin
there will be no words for a million years
she is surrounded by spirits, afflatus arabesque
Foretaste of the day’s bruteness pricking her skin,
she whispers animal rhythm chant
she is surrounded by spirits, afflatus arabesque
who lift the veil of poetry’s first bride
She whispers animal rhythm chant
Inside the cave’s wet, black halls
who lift the veil of poetry’s first bride
And pierce dark’s deathness
Inside the cave’s wet, black halls
Lascaux men sistine the glistening walls
and pierce dark’s deathness
while one sits and watches
Lascaux men sistine the glistening walls
inchoate meaning, lacustrine soils of consciousness
while one sits and watches
spinning detritus into verse
Inchoate meaning, lacustrine soils of consciousness
the lifebread of fools,
spinning detritus into verse
grabbing, twisting our heads to see
The lifebread of fools
poetry, poetry
grabbing, twisting our heads to see
the tumult and silence of existence
Poetry, poetry
picaresque and profane
the tumult and silence of existence
sacrament of innocence and dirt
Picaresque and profane
there will be no words for a million years
sacrament of innocence and dirt
she watches in Olduvai’s breaking dawn
(The pantoum is rare form of poetry similar to a villanelle. It is composed of a series of quatrains; the second and fourth lines of each stanza are repeated as the first and third lines of the next. This pattern continues for any number of stanzas, except for the final stanza, which differs in the repeating pattern. The first and third lines of the last stanza are the second and fourth of the penultimate; the first line of the poem is the last line of the final stanza, and the third line of the first stanza is the second of the final).