Megafauna

man was small

The world, big.

man was prey

Hunted by all.

But stone and fire made man strong

Down went Mammoth, Lion, Sloth

Until they were heard

Just in song.

The wild turned to empty land

So, man built Wall, tall and proud

Not to keep out monsters, to keep out man

Forest was cut to meet Wall’s demands

But Wall was small, man needed space to feed.

He fought Whale for water. He took

Sky from Bird. Then he sailed to Moon

And made the stars a sea.

He scraped, clawed, and carved Earth’s hide

He scalped the ice caps, he skinned

The tides. He flayed the soil

And hung its giblets to dry.

After the butchering was done,

Man picked Earth from his teeth.

He wanted something else to eat

But there was nothing left to hunt.

Nothing left but Man.

Big, terrible, world-spanning Man.

Man could be chased.

Man could be beast.

So again he was small

And the world—big!

man was prey

Hunted by all.