Olduvai
written by: Rhett Talley
In the Olduvai toward the dusk
A little sparrow sings of blood and musk
And mutterings of bones, and grotesque skulls
Creep like menace from the primal crevice,
Crawl like scorpions into my ears
And nest.
Wherefore this pick, this brush, these tools
I gather up, make ready for the dawn?
To get at you, O you irresistible
Toolmaker, fireshaker, rocktrader
Shackled in dim light that juts from African dust
Content, reconciled to infinite silence.
Or perhaps the nourishment of indiscriminate lions:
The marrow of your sudden revelation
Mere sustenance for another ancient hunt.
Let not the lion have its hour.
I have come to Olduvai
To be the one
To crawl inside the ribcage
Intercept the whispers
And press my name onto your nameless spine.
Press my kiss upon your mocking forehead.
