Primitives
       

Banish the glaze of objects from the firmament,
undo formica & fundament, pinch off the ridges
of the Caucasus & irons of clay used in hearths
some four millennia ago. Ask how blind urges
creolized in burnished arabesque surfaces
that once glowed in fire are now backlit in humidity-
controlled glass capsules indexed by number,
defined by placard, sold at auction. Recall
that clusters of bird bones found buried with relics
are those of Gallus gallus—the domestic chicken.
Trace a chain of Y-chromosomes from the Upper
Paleolithic imagination to rock walls scarred
with petroglyphs & handprints. To poems.
Burnish the gaze of subjects with firm remnants.

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Copyright © 2011 Ravi Shankar All rights reserved
from Deepening Groove
The National Poetry Review Press
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission