“Skull of large carnivore, late Paleolithic”, Jerome Lee
1.
take
the bird fat, to polish his skull
the wood ash, to colour his mane
the monkey blood, to quench his thirst.
he has never been wrong and he loves us as we love him.
2.
the shaman says the floods are coming.
our god roars a warning through her
he is wise. we must move.
some doubt. we leave them behind.
they cry that the high lands are full
of dragons with rotten teeth
tigers in the night, snatching babies.
a chief must be strong. i must be strong. my sons must be strong.
our god is strong and we love him.
3.
we make it here. the trees here grow tall
like the boar's cage. my sons,
they will not be strong
eating the game here.
scrawny monkey and colugo
no we can not doubt for our god is wise and we love him and he loves us.
4.
now the floods come
we lay our god on the new shore
where the fish are fat
on those who drowned
carve a canoe with blunted flints.
then sing a dirge
for those who didn't love him