I REPRESENT THE BOND OF ALL HUMANITY

I represent the bond of all humanity,
A tale told richly in the ancient DNA,
At least one-half a hunter-gatherer,
A quarter sod-buster and one-eighth herder.

It was farming that made civilization possible,
And cattle-herding that made it what it is--
Nothing to be proud of,
And rather problematic.

And there is still the trace of those who left
Africa by the northeast gate,
Filling all Asia and Europe
And Pacific islands, too.

The history of Europe is in my blood,
From long before the biblical flood,
When a knife was a sharpened stone
And the ceiling was the roof of the cave.

We told stories huddled beside the fire
While women signed the first art,
Pressing delicate hands to the cave wall
But all of this was not to last.

I represent the common bond,
An ancient blend of all humanity,
Not gently swizzled by peace,
But shaken hard by war,
And victims
Of our own
Intransigent ignorance.

6/26/15