Evolution
Carbon-Based Life

a leg sprouts outward
5 toes
a glassy eye
yellow algae iris
a black slit widens and narrows

the wetness covers the body
and lays coolness and
waves of remembrance
onto the skin

inside the body, in the ribs, underneath soft tissues
that breathe air
wind running across the body
the inner heart
at the centre of each creature’s story

long hair coat of musk ox
rust to burnt walnut brown
the mind turns tumblers
and small fires click
through his eyes
at the competition

a sabred tooth hangs
in the air
an ivory spear
the mouth opens wide to roar
the growl rolls out from
the belly
and crashes onto the foothills

the fossils lay safely
in the layered rock
time spent in
redesign and fierce survival

an open palm
smooth and still
a finger touches a shell
folds a leaf
turns a stick

two bare feet
hold the moss
shafts of light slant through
the forest trees
whispering to themselves
in a unified voice
that lifts a wave of air current

by Ann Frances Poems Index