The mother gazelle does not smile at her young.
The mother cat barely yawns.
The mother chimp, with eyes as old as rocks,
Looks down on the newborn at her breast
With a look of deep grief,
Almost close to knowing
That the survival of her kind
Requires that this one will take her place.

And yet, we humans can't see the herd
For the mass confusion on the face of each individual.
We think we have style because
We've covered our nakedness
And we've covered our tracks.

We've invented money and status
And great bureaucracies,
Pyramid scams that we consider institutions.
They distract us from the natural part of our nature
And from considering all the implications
Of the survival of our species.

-jenn