Either They Were Human
Either They Were Human
Or they were not. Like us,
They wanted shelter.
Like us, they painted their walls
Once they had time to think of ornament, once
They wanted shelter
To be more than what it was.
Once, we had time to think of ornament; once
We too painted a wall
To be more than what it was,
With human figures and figures of beasts.
We too painted a wall
As if it could come alive
With human figures. The figures of beasts—
Remember how they danced
As if they could come alive
There on the stone. There in the flickering light
Remember how they danced,
Deer so light on their feet
There on the stone, there in the flickering light,
And the big cats wearing spots, chasing
Deer so light on their feet, so vivid
In our dreams they kept trading places
With the big cats. Wearing spots, they chased
First one then another
Into our dreams. They kept trading places.
Like us, they painted their walls,
First one, then the other.
They were not like us.
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