Lascaux
Survival, procreation, culture: these
form the imperatives of human life.
Consider caves where early humans dwelt,
secure and warm, to raise their young – and paint
the walls…no doubt, told stories, danced and sang
as well, around the fire – imagined gods
and heroes, hells and heavens, love and loss,
and wondered at the thunder, and the moon…
Religion, history and science, like
the arts, the ultimate achievements of
our cultural imaginings, provide
meaning for meaning-seeking creatures like
mankind. But life is empty, meaningless:
we die – ourselves, our species must demise
some day. Our culture’s fiction – all of it
made up – a fading legacy of lives
defunct. The only true reality
is certain death. Meanwhile we breathe, and breed,
and dream – write verses, lest we be forgot,
like those who daubed the walls of caves in France.
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