Cro-Magnon

Taller,
stronger,
more graceful
more perfect in every way
- or so we’re told,
were the Old Ones,
the ones now gone,
perfect,
yet not so absolute
in their perfection
that they could be here today.

What changed?
What happened
that they died out
leaving fragments of bone
a few chips of stone
here and there,
recognisable
only to skilled eye?
And what
of their low browed cousins
once thought bow legged
more lately
re-evaluated Neanderthal,
not so bad after all.

Are either still here?
Tall clever Cro-Magnon,
short powerful Neanderthal,
do their spirits live on
in us?
Do their genes
still carry their graces
their gifts
through to us
mere mortal
humans?
Homo sapiens sapiens
who have hung round for a while.

And what
of the future?
What changes to our species
have yet to come,
and for what reasons?
What changes,
or circumstances,
will lead us to make the next
great evolutionary leap,
and who will be left behind
for future creatures
to ponder over their bones?

© Kayleen White, 2008